NON PHIXION
Non Phixion was formed in 1995 under the guidance of MC Serch of 3rd Bass, who brought together rappers Ill Bill (Later of La Coka Nostra & Heavy Metal Kings) Sabac Red, and DJ Eclipse, later to be joined by Goretex, another rapper and longtime friend of Ill Bill. Their first single "Legacy" was released a year later, and the group immediately began to develop a strong reputation as an underground act. Almost immediately a major label deal was secured with Geffen Records, but miscommunications over money between the group, the label, and Serch led to Non Phixion's dismissal from the roster.
Undaunted, Non Phixion pressed on, touring and performing in their native New York constantly, opening for contemporaries such as Gang Starr, The Beatnuts, and The Roots. In the background, attempts to get their debut album released continued to fall by the wayside, as plans to release through Matador never fully materialized, and producer Rick Rubin attempted to bring the group to Warner Bros. to produce the record himself. In the end the group's debut LP The Future Is Now was finally released in 2002 on Ill Bill's own record label, Uncle Howie Records.
Non Phixion would later release a follow-up The Green CD/DVD in 2004, before going their separate ways in 2006, as each member pursued a solo career. Despite the group's failure to reach a mainstream commercial audience, the group have since become legends in underground circles, with The Future Is Now being heralded as one of the great unsung hip-hop classics of the 2000s. Unlike anything else that was being produced at the time, the album featured darkly clever rhymes inspired equally by classic street hip-hop as by death metal atmospherics, government conspiracies, and apocalyptic, futurist scenarios. Additional support came in the form of guest spots from heavy-hitters like MF Doom, The Beatnuts, members of industrial metal group Fear Factory, and many more, as well as top-of-the-line production, courtesy of greats like Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Ill Bill's own brother Necro, among others.
In recognizing the wide-reaching influence the album, Boston hip-hop boutique Get On Down has prepared a deluxe box set: The Future Is Now Premium Edition. The set is contained in a solid collectible box, and features the original The Future Is Now studio album on compact disc, as well as a compact disc of the instrumentals. Bundled alongside the CDs are scores of extras, including three 7" records of the album's three singles, housed in sleeves printed with reproductions of the original artwork, an 80-page hardcover book filled with liner notes, photos, and interviews, a reproduction of the group's press-only sampler cassette The Past, The Present, And The Future Is Now containing early demos and freestyles, and expanded artwork from the album's cover artist Mear One.
Now shipping from Traffic Entertainment Group!
PRESS FOR THE FUTURE IS NOW
