Pueblo musician to release new single Feb. 2, album in April
Singer-songwriter Morgan J. Cox grew up in Denver, but Pueblo is where he became a “Lover of Life.”
Developing passion for music at an early age, Cox wrote music, recorded music and even auditioned for the X-Factor while living in Denver. However, he didn’t perform at an Open Mic until he got to the Steel City. He takes musical influence from various artists including Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Andre 3000, Notorious B.I.G., James Brown and the Cure.
Cox performed his first Pueblo gig acapella at the Grind Haus coffee shop, then the Hanging Tree, while still a patient at the Colorado Mental Health Institute Pueblo.
“Now, I have met so many cool people in Pueblo so many people that are just willing to listen to what I have to say in my music, so many people that are willing to help, so many people that are willing give me support to see me succeed, to give me that foundation that I didn’t have in Denver,” Cox said.
The middle child of seven children, Cox struggled with mental illness much of his young life. He tried to commit suicide as a youth and became involved with mental health services at age 10. He was living in foster care at 15 and was emancipated from a Canon City treatment center later in his teens.
“I was living on my own in Denver and I was doing pretty good,” Cox said. “I got my GED, started working at Starbucks, then I auditioned for the X Factor in Denver… I had seen the flier when I was working at Starbucks and I was like ‘Oh, I want my life to be so much better than just a barista. I want to be a performer.’’
While attending school, Cox got “Fs” in most classes but would always have an “A” in music and performing arts.
“I really struggled with reading, writing and stuff like that but I found a way to write my experiences and stuff on paper in poetry when I was a little bit younger, like middle school,” Cox said. “Then I started turning them into songs… I started writing my own songs and expressing how I felt in my music. Scenarios that I have seen in this life, I express through music.”
In addition to writing songs, Cox took ballet and dance classes at Denver’s Cleo Parker Robinson Dance studio. When it came time to audition for the X Factor, a successful audition earned him a call to advance to the next round. However, Cox missed the call and the opportunity.
“But at this time, my mental state was deteriorating,” Cox said. “I struggled with mental illness and I was not medicated. I was not eating. I was not doing the healthy things that I needed to do to stay afloat. I found myself just completely psychotic at this point. I was staring at the sun for hours one day and mumbling and grumbling to all kinds of people that would walk by.”
After hours staring at the sun, Cox was nearly blinded and realized he had locked himself out of his apartment. Cox approached a gentleman in front of the door to the apartment and asked to be let in.
“Long story short, I ended up asking him to let me in the building,” Cox said. “He wouldn’t let me in. I became aggressive and violent. I ended up punching this guy and he ended up falling down some stairs and hurting himself really bad. At this point, I realized that I definitely did something wrong.”
Cox served two years in the Denver City Jail following the incident.
“My public defender told me that with my mental state I should try to go to the state hospital in Pueblo, get some therapy and try to have a life worth living because prison was not what she wanted to see for me… That was exactly where they were going to send me if I was to go to trial,” Cox said.
“She told me these exact words; she said ‘I have lunch with these people and they told me that they are going to hang you for what you’ve done.’”
The victim of Cox’s crime was an elderly person, which meant Cox could have spent a minimum of 15 years in the penitentiary. Instead of a prison sentence, Cox moved to Pueblo to stay at CMHIP, where he would stay for four years. While in recovery, he got a barista job at what is now the Grind Haus.
Around this time he began performing Open Mic events at the coffee shop held by community organizer Javier Quinones.
“I got up there and I didn’t have any backing track or anything like that,” Cox said. “I just sung this song acapella and I found my voice again that night. Javier is such a good guy and is such a good asset to Pueblo. He started to come and pick me up at CHMIP and take me to the Open Mics every Friday night.”
By the time he left CHMIP, Cox had become a well-known member of Pueblo’s music community. Currently, he is working on a self-titled project slated to be released in April. His new single, Lover of Life will be released on Feb. 2. His music can be streamed on all major platforms and on his YouTube channel, Morgan J Cox - Topic.
“I write from experiences, so some of my experiences aren't that positive or uplifting but I feel like this next project that I’m working on, Morgan J. Cox music… is very, very uplifting and therapeutic,” Cox said. “I like to call my music therapeutic now that I have found my niche, where I want to take it and where I want to go.”
As a Lover of Life, Cox considers Pueblo his home.
“I went to Denver a couple weeks ago to record music for some singles that I am going to be dropping and it was just overwhelming,” Cox said. “It was just like I had to get back to Pueblo because it’s not only my safe place but my comfort zone and a place where I feel like I can thrive and be successful.”
“It makes me want to do good,” Cox said. “It makes me want to stay healthy, stay clear of mind and stay advocating for people with mental illnesses.”
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