Dreamkid
South African musician and social media personality (born 1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ryan Christopher Morris (born 14 January 1983), known professionally as Dreamkid, is a South African musician and social media influencer based in London, United Kingdom.[1][2]
14 January 1983
- Musician
- social media personality
Dreamkid | |
|---|---|
Dreamkid performing at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ryan Christopher Morris 14 January 1983 |
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | dreamkid83 |
| Instagram information | |
| Page | |
| Genre | Music |
| Followers | 251k |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 184k |
| Last updated: 12 January 2026 | |
Early life
Ryan Christopher Morris was born on 14 January 1983[3] in Durban, South Africa.[1] He grew up in the Ballito area of Durban spending his formative years skateboarding, surfing and playing the guitar. Morris has revealed that the first music cassette he owned was MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em[4] and that he enjoyed listening to Blink 182, which inspired him to play in punk rock bands.[5]
Career
2005–2018: Career beginnings and New Volume
Morris relocated to the United Kingdom in 2005 and founded the South African pop punk band New Volume.[5][6] In 2015, New Volume was signed to Sumerian Records.[6]
2019-2022: TikTok, Instagram and Dreamkid
Morris rose to prominence as Dreamkid through TikTok where, starting with the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, he began posting tropes with 80s music arrangements.[4][7] Dreamkid’s reach on TikTok went from 1000 to 100,000 followers in five weeks,[8] and as the self-proclaimed creator of blinkwave, he amassed a celebrity following with Zooey Deschanel, Freddie Prince Jr., Donnie Wahlberg, David Arquette and Zachary Levi all cosigning on his nostalgic compositions.[9]
He would go on to mirroring his success from TikTok to Instagram, hosting POV reels performing unlikely synthwave style covers of Nirvana, Metallica, The Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day, alongside takes of songs by pop performers like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.[2]
Dreamkid's lead single for his debut self-titled album "Hearts Don't Beat The Same When They're Hurting" was released in September 2021.[1] The album itself was released in May 2022 and had a notable bubblegum pop influence while also keeping the sounds varied and pacey.[8]
2023-present: Daggers
In May 2023, a music video was released for the single "Street Lights".[10] Another single, "Take Me On Tonight", was released in September 2023, with Metro Station's Mason Musso featured on vocals.[9]
"Chrissy", a single released in June 2023 off the album Daggers, is regarded as the artist’s de facto instrumental viral hit.[11] With 3 million plays and 150,000 reel shares on Instagram along with over one million plays on TikTok, it also appeared in Premier League football team reels and syncs with independent Hollywood movies.[12]
By the time his sophomore album Daggers was released on 31 May 2024, Music News wrote that Dreamkid was "...undoubtedly the first artist in the synthwave genre to go viral on TikTok and Instagram."[12][7] The album peaked at 94 on the UK Official Album Downloads Chart.[13]
In 2025, Dreamkid collaborated with American singer songwriter Bonnie McKee and a synth-heavy remix of her track "Easy" off the album Bombastic was released on 20 June that year.[14][15]
Dreamkid was invited to create a synthesizer patch preset pack for Baby Audio, which was released as part of their BA-1 synth plugin update released on 5 November 2025.[16]
Filmography
Dreamkid provided music for The Invisible Raptor[17] and Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World.[18] His song "Chrissy" was featured in the independent Hollywood Blockbuster horror film Terrifier 3.[19][20]
Musical Style & Influences
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Dreamkid |
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| Dreamkid (Instrumental Edition) |
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| Daggers |
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| Daggers (Instrumental Edition) |
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Extended plays
| Title | Details | Track listing |
|---|---|---|
| All Thriller, No Filler |
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| Memories Of The Future (Vol.1) |
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Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Hearts Don't Beat the Same When They're Hurting" | 2021 | Dreamkid |
| "Fatal Attraction" | ||
| "Game Over" | 2022 | |
| "America" | ||
| "Street Lights" | 2023 | Daggers |
| "Chrissy" | ||
| "Take Me On Tonight" (featuring Mason Musso) | ||
| "The Highway" | 2024 | |
| "Apocalyptic Love Song" | 2026 | |
| "Innocent Runaway" | ||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "All I Need Is You" (The Last Concorde featuring Dreamkid) |
2023 | Flashback |
Remixes
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bonnie McKee | "Easy"[14] |