MEMORIES: OPX/MJ & Friends (The Late 1990s)

It was the mid-to-late 1990s when Hip-Hop was still golden and the warehouse "rave" was where its at for those who preferred more indi, alternative and underground styles than was available in the "mainstream". Home internet just hit the public and everyone was spooked because of the threat of the impending Y2K computer virus that was supposed to send everyone back to the Dark Ages.

MJ had just returned home from college, where he discovered different social circles like role playing gamers who fancied themselves vampires, werewolves and mages to rapping cabals who lived and breathed rhythmic lyricism as students in the School Of Hip-Hop. Having been raised on MTV in the '80s, MJ found it easy to adapt to vastly different genres, so he found himself volleying from Hip-Hop to EDM (Electronic Dance Music), moreover, Drum N' Bass which allowed him to rhyme effortlessly over the hectic ravy beats. To engage as an emcee, he swapped the lyrically saavy but cocky moniker "Perfect Timin'"for the more otherworldly metaphysical name, "Orion Pax" from one of his childhood animated tv show heroes to which friends eventually shortened to OPX/Opax.

MJ's allies during this era were The !ndividualz (!ndi) Crew/NDC, MC Supreme: The Soul Child and what later became known as Magic City Junglists/MCJ. From them came the two supergroups, ANOM!LE Cru who rapped over often junglized beats and Eargasmatics who incubated a large majority of Alabama local and even regional Hip-Hop emcees in their time.

Photo highlights from that decade.