Biography
Now On coalesced during the mid-2000s, drawing its members from several of Michigan’s leading underground hip-hop ensembles. DJ Haircut had previously performed with the Ann Arbor collective Athletic Mic League and contributed to its allied production outfit, the Lab Techs. Jackson Perry and IX Lives—son of Larry “Squirrel” Demps, longtime member of the Dramatics, the Detroit R&B group that flourished in the 1960s and 1970s—served as principal MCs in Funktelligence, another Ann Arbor unit that eventually dissolved. Seeking fresh opportunities, the three artists moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Los Angeles, California. Their stage résumé already encompassed appearances with fellow alternative-leaning rap acts such as Slum Village, the Roots, and Little Brother, as well as established figures Chaka Khan and Herbie Hancock. Despite this activity, the group issued scant recorded work until the 2005 arrival of From Now On... The EP. The Lab Techs handled production for the trio’s first full-length album, Eye Level, which surfaced in October of the next year.
Albums
