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Approximately four hours into a flight from L.A. to New York, if you look out your left side window you’ll see this mitten-shaped state that to you may be lost in the shadows of Motown. However, if you slide on your complimentary airline headphones at the precise moment when Ann Arbor comes into view, you’ll hear this * Boom Bap * sound that may be new to you, but that Michigan has known about for years… A sound so universally appealing you’ll be calling your jet an “aero-plane.” A sound so rich with the soul of Detroit you’ll be calling your pilots “cats.” A sound so progressive you’ll begin to wonder why you’re sitting on a floatation device and not a parachute. The music you’re listening to on todays flight comes care of Michigan’s ground-breaking Hip-Hop take-over, Now On. Hip-Hop lovers the world over have been inundated by cynics who think they’re part of a dying art form. On the contrary, the members of Now On are leading a rebirth of the very fundamentals that defined Hip-Hop thirty years ago: originality, voice, culture and of course, entertainment. In fusing and confusing this elemental barometer, Now On emerges with a grimy freshness unseen or heard to date. Consisting of emcees IX Lives (son of Larry “Squirrel” Demps of the legendary Dramatics) and Jackson Perry formerly of Funktelligence, together with Haircut of Athletic Mic League (AML), Now On is set to make their tenure in the music industry the very definition of Def. This fall 2006, Now On will release their debut full-length album EyeLevel on a new label built for the group, A-Side Worldwide. Having shared the stage with Eminem, Slum Village, The Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, The Pharcyde, De La Soul and Little Brother - to name a few, the members of Now On have felt the influence of Hip-Hop’s elite, and are prepared to stand among them. They have also performed on stage with Grammy-Award winning artists Chaka Kahn, Herbie Hancock and Arrested Development to a sold out crowd (40,000+) in Tokyo, Japan; have toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Japan; have appeared on national television; have written songs that were licensed for TV and film; and have reached combined CD sales of over 10,000 units. With the Lab Techs production team at the helm, Now On has pulled themselves up by their lyrical moon-bootstraps to pump out the futuristic soul that has the music scene buzzing about whats to come. Following that buzz Now On recently relocated to Los Angeles to make their music more accessible to the industry and a new audience. Despite being so new to town, the unparalleled energy of their live show finds the entertainment industry skeptics with their hands in the air, fists pumping, screaming “Live for the Now, On to the Future!” So the next time you’re on that red-eye, you better make sure those cats touch down on what Michigan has to offer, or Now On will be flying circles around you and your aero-plane. |
