By Inquiry Charter Healthy Owl Times reporters | Elle.Morris, a member of the hip-hop group ILL DOOTS, can’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing.
“I’ve been singing longer than talking. I didn’t talk until I was five years old,” said Elle.Morris, who adds a period between her first and last name. Music is where “I feel the most understood, heard, and seen. It’s my favorite way of communicating.”
Communicating is a passion she shares with her bandmates. In an interview with Healthy Owl Times reporters, members of the ILL DOOTS shared what makes music special to them and why they believe musical experiences are important to everyone’s mental and physical health.
Scott Ziegler called music “my purpose. It feels good and nourishing to do what you’re supposed to be doing.” Added Jordan McCree, music “gives me life—even if it’s just a half hour of the day.” Anthony Martinez-Briggs loves that music allows him to “share the warmth” of a good feeling.
Rooted in hip-hop, the ILL DOOTS play a variety of music, including funk and soul. It’s all a way to connect with their audiences. When people come to a concert, the ILL DOOTS want them to feel as though they were simply talking with friends at a bus stop.
“The effort we make to connect with an audience is how we just connect with anyone when we’re not on stage,” said Anthony, the lead vocalist, whose stage name is US.
“We use our music to start conversations.,” he continued. “Moving into the audience, singing closer to someone, leading them in singing something. I want you to feel like I see and hear you. Like I’m talking to you.”
People in the audience can also bond through their shared experience of hearing the music and feeling the rhythm and beats, the group members said.
Scott, Jordan, and Anthony founded the band while they were students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. They’ve been creating music since 2009.
Their resume includes four studio albums, countless mixtapes, and six national tours. Each group member shares the responsibilities of musician, producer, writer, and performer.
The ILL in their name stands for I Love Living/I Love Learning, and DOOTS is a nod to two of their musical influences: Dilla and The Roots. The name reflects what they care about: social justice advocacy, being culturally relevant, and teaching art to others. Through creating music, working together, and touring together, they have a special unity, said Scott, who plays bass.
Anthony said music has helped the group work through feelings. Have you ever had a feeling “get stuck in your stomach or in your chest?” he asked. “Music… allows me to take that stuck feeling and get it out. Expressing it makes me not feel stuck anymore.”
Scott said music helps him tune into the rhythm of his day. “I have an accurate internal clock,” he said, “because I’m always keeping time and music is always running in the background for me.” And being in rhythm, he said, helps him “make healthier choices.”
The benefits they see in music are also described by some health experts. Music can have “major effects on many aspects of health, ranging from memory and mood to cardiovascular [heart system] function and athletic performance,” according to a 2021 article on the Harvard Health website that cited several studies.
Jordan summed it all up: With music in his day, he said, “I feel fulfilled like a bunch of Thanksgiving dinners.”
Illustration by Kennedy, 5th grade, Inquiry, 2025-2026.
