Morgan Taylor is a rising force in R&B. Period, exclamation point. Or, how it is expressed in her new single, “Outside (That’s PeriodT).” The emphasis is also on her powerful, expressive voice that is on full display in this R&B anthem to strong, confident womanhood. Morgan was born with the voice, has trained and honed it. Beginning with gospel, as a child, and progressing through a degree from the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. Morgan put out her first EP, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”, when she was 11. That voice and her artistry are on full display in “Outside,” evident in the strength and self-confidence expressed in the lyrics. The song was born a couple of years ago in the early stages of a situationship. She doesn’t go into the whole story, but while carrying on a conversation with him, she had an epiphany. “I was trying to go with the flow, and I kept telling myself, ‘I do not like him. What is this about that I keep talking to him?’” Her friends told her, “No, girl. He is not it,” and the first lines of a song came to her soon after.

Morgan shared, “I absolutely love the song because it was real. I know people go through this when it comes to settling for less, and my statement is, ‘Don’t! Know your worth and know that you will find someone that loves you and will treat you like a queen or king.’ So, I wanted to write something that’s low-key about overcoming fear but is also encouraging. That you can go outside (literally & figuratively) and just love on you and be by yourself until the right person comes.” This approach also illustrates her creative process. “My process is my personal life, like conversations I have with my friends and family. It’s my inspiration. I find a beat and I write what I’m feeling in the moment. It’s random — the first line, I go off of that. My jumping off point, and I let the story come to me.”

Then she goes into the studio, and works out the music and the story with her producers. With “Outside,” the producers at Atlanta Sound Factory were playing a beat, she said, that “kind of matched the vibe” of the original beat she found on YouTube. “I was like, ‘Oooo, I got some lyrics for this,’ and they were like, ‘Go in the booth. Go in the booth!’” She did. They liked where the song was going, and she liked where the song was going. She and the producers built the music around the lyrics. “I have a lot of say on what goes into the song but it is a collaborative experience. When it comes to the instrumentation, like if I want a guitar or saxophone on a certain part, they help make my vision come to life . I’m not a producer, but I do have an ear. I add my input based off how I’m feeling.”

The message of “Outside” — “Don’t settle. Know your worth.” — is also expressed in her personal and professional life, the maturity and growth she has achieved in her music. Morgan describes herself as a “quintessential girl next door,” growing up in a suburb of St. Louis. The kind of girl who was raised to meet the expectations of others without ruffling feathers. To counter that, Morgan created her own persona: Big Mo. She tells this story: “I think of myself as a chill girl,...an introvert. Big Mo is my extroverted side. Big Mo is adventurous. She takes me out of my comfort zone and isn’t afraid to really shine. Going to college, I was thinking, 'How can I show up differently?’ I got to Berklee and started meeting new people. I was like, ‘Call me Big Mo.’ I wanted to shake off my shy side.” Apparently, she was so “girl-next-door’ that it was not initially embraced. “Some people weren’t taking it seriously. So I decided, ‘You know what? I’m gonna just keep saying it until they recognized I am Big Mo!’” Then came her first Berklee performance, a tribute to Katy Perry. It was the first time Morgan performed highly choreographed dance moves while singing. “I had never thought of myself as a dancer and wasn’t sure I could do it. That’s when Big Mo really came out. I got on stage and did it — everything! The crowd began chanting, ‘Big Mo! Big Mo!’ And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Big Mo is that girl!.’ I surprised myself and others too. Everyone started calling me Big Mo after that!”

Morgan graduated from Berklee this year and put out her first R&B EP, Love Bombed (Love, Loss and Lessons), which has over 1.6 million streams and counting. She has performed with artists such as Brian McKnight and J. Moss but has aspirations to be a headliner. Morgan Taylor, the St. Louis girl next door, has grown into her Big Mo persona. Her shyness was born, in part, from being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder as a tweener. She has had to overcome painful experiences like being bullied or ridiculed for being different and not always feeling confident. Morgan learned through the Covid lockdown how to be comfortable with herself and to enjoy her own company, life lesson that she wants to impart on others.

Big Mo also makes an appearance on the business side as the name of Morgan’s music label. Big Mo LLC serves as a platform for strong women and men who do not settle. A safe place for aspiring young artists, such as herself, to grow and become successful. “I feel like I’m in that moment, right now. I really understand who I am, what I want to be as an artist and how I want to show up. With my Big Mo label, I want to be able to support up-and-coming independent artists. I’m always scrolling on social media and seeing underrated artists that I really admire and who I would love to see grow.”

“Outside (That’s PeriodT)” is a part of Morgan Taylor’s story, a story she tells in a powerful, heartfelt R&B way. The stories come to her and she turns it into music. “I think that’s the best part of doing this, creating music, because it’s like a baby coming to life, and it’s my story coming to life.” Listen and become part of Morgan Taylor’s story. “Big Mo is the name of my fam, my community. It’s a space for people who love music but also have overcome and continue to overcome. Everyone is welcomed, respected and seen. My fans are the best!”

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