MJ "Darl!ng" Simmons was born in Birmingham, AL and is from a long line of creative, educational and military archetypes.

MJ w/ parents, Veverly and Ralph

His mother's line is musical and thrived in the realm of education, the military, the Southeastern church circuit (his grandmother, Dorothy Jackson workshopped and performed with Gospel acts like David Peaceton, The Winans and Kirk Franklin) and mainstream music success in the 1970-1980s (via Deniece Williams).

His father's bloodline is mainly entrepreneurial, artistic and military with a number of musical vocalists and songwriters to their credit as well.

THE EARLY YEARS

As a young urban child in the early 1980s with a boombox and lots of creative cousins, MJ would often make tapes of their audio antics to replay for family during get-togethers.

It was then that MJ's interest in music became obvious to family elders and they were helpful in actively guiding both his creative discipline and tastes in any way they could, fostering his involvement in piano and alto saxophone for symphonic band during Grammar and middle school.

MJ (bottom left) among cousins

MJ participated as a young vocalist in his family's Christian singing group during the mid-1980s along with his mother, grandmother and grandfather, great aunt and cousin.

singing in church

He performed in harmony with them for Christian conventions and revivals all over the Southeastern America until the early 1990s when MJ graduated to high school and discovered that high school girls absolutely loved guys that can sing.

MJ at 9yrs old.

He had also by this time discovered Rock, Punk, New Wave and Pop, listening to the latest from Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, David Bowie, Prince and Michael Jackson, etc. through the influence of his baby-sitting aunt and MTV plus the cinematic soundtrackers of the times, Jan Hammer, Vince DiCola, Bill Conti, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifirin and Giorgio Moroder.

And via a mixtape from his art-schooled cousin from Atlanta, Electronica, in the form of Chicago Acid House, namely, DJ Pierre's remix of "Rock To The Beat" by Lisa M.

THE TEEN YEARS

In high school, MJ and four other of his classmates were busted in class, for singing the harmonies of Al B. Sure!, Guy ft. Teddy Riley, Babyface, Jodeci, New Edition and Boyz II Men to the young ladies during classtime.

Their teacher then made them perform impromptu before the entire class and upon hearing their albeit raw talents, then challenged them to perform officially for an upcoming class function.

They met her challenge a few weeks and faculty favors later which went over so well, it inspired them to form an R&B/Hip-Hop boy band called "The Image" to which MJ cut their first demos by splice-editing his tracks with a razor blade and scotch tape and "pause-mixing" or creating manually looped tracks with a dual cassette recorder.

MJ at 15 yrs old; c1991.

These first (but admittedly terrible) "demos" he made throughout the years were indeed the meager beginning of MJ's career as a one-in-a-million music producer and recording artist/engineer.

During high school, MJ also took part in theater, by one year, performing in their MLK play and the next playing Malcolm X where he had to theatrically 'die' for the audience in a particularly dramatic assassination scene involving funeral limousines and a grand procession.

Their group lasted until MJ's graduation to college, and had by then, a sister-group counterpart called "Class A".

MJ leads the high school class song at 17 yrs old, 1993.

They both experienced some successes opening for groups, 2 Live Crew ft. Luke Skywalker, H-Town on the Southern leg of their "I Got S*** On My Mind" tour, becoming lifelong friends with many of his group-mates, some of which followed him to college and throughout his life as extended/honorary family.

THE COLLEGE YEARS

In college, MJ studied Journalism and writing but waxed in rudimentary electronic music production, performing in college talent shows with his fellow collegiate high school alums and group-mates.

He also made money making romantic mixtapes for his college mates to play when their girlfriends came over to their dormrooms for visitation.

During his Summer breaks, he as "Perfect Timing/P.T./Perfect" met and was soon adopted by a creative Hip-Hop family called the "!ndividuals Cru" or "!ndi/NDC", where he learned how to scratch and to program keyboards and drum machines and are where his resulting exclamation marks in everything concerning his brand originated from.

Their tight-knit family was rocked less than two years later when their big brother-member, Nathan "Prov(erb)" Wallace was tragically murdered, devastating and removing the glue from their once-thriving crew.

It would be a few years more before they would reform as MJ's "ANOM!LE All-Stars" in 1998 to record digitally for the first time thanks to MJ's computer-whiz/then-fiancee who built MJ's first studio computer.

It was on this computer that MJ would flourish officially as a formidable producer and engineer.

!ndi Cru (24 Elderz, Jack!e Bubbles, D@/Se7en)

MJ ADOPTED

During his estrangement from NDC, MJ got involved in a local organization chapter that helped AIDS patients and would escort them to get groceries, meds, shopping but mostly to raves where he was re-introduced to the multi-faceted focus of fascination that is Electronica.

MJ soon befriended other ravers and trained as a Jungle/Drum N' Bass DJ with several rave DJ hopefuls, some of which went on to be later known as "The Majik City Junglists", "The Enemy" and LA's "Evol Intent".

MJ in sessions with Supreme and D@/Se7en, 1999

As the ANOM!LE All-Stars, MJ's new digital setup, co-creators and skillsets allowed him to fully express his creativity, giving winks to his past influences and grounds to bid his listeners to join him in exploring this new sound, his fusion of Hip-Hop and R&B with Electronica, Trip-Hop, House and Drum N' Bass, influenced by the likes of Goldie, Roni Size, Bjork, Stereolab, Portishead and Tricky/Massive Attack.

The crew was soon discovered by John "DJ Supreme" Malone, who met and would workshop with MJ in Soul Child Music studio some years earlier and was developing a Hip-Hop revue called "The Eargasm" to which MJ's crew would come to perform as regulars during its tenure of over a decade and even later developed a rave-esque dance afterparty, performing with local favorites, Abstract Chemestry (now known as Nerves Baddington), Red Light District, R-Tist and COMPLET, (of The Green Seed) and a host of other local and regional talent.

MJ, Supreme, and crew, 1999

At this time, MJ's influences included A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One & BDP (Boogie Down Productions), NWA, Bell Biv Devoe (BBD), Organized Confusion, Wu-Tang and DITC (Digging In The Crates) crew.

In 2000, MJ took a side-job with Osborne Entertainment to be a "song & dance" guy at Visionland (now called Alabama Adventures), playing dancing versions of Beetlejuice, The Crypt Keeper and a pompadour-coiffed, leather jacket-wearing biker in "Leader Of The Pack", where MJ once again has to dramatically play dead for the crowd.

ANOM!LE All-Stars with Supreme, at Eargasm's premier, 1999

Darl!ng, then called, "Or!on Pax/Opax/OPX", after one of his favorite heroes' incarnations, recorded over two years, a collection of unreleased material called "Yestereon", featuring MJ as Or!on Pax, Supreme, several members of the "!ndi" crew (then-named "24 Elderz) and introducing his first lyrical protege, Denise "D@" Tatum (R.I.P. 2012).

MJ ADOPTS

Ever since then, MJ would always keep an ear out for the next artist with raw talent, worthy of turning his setup on for, or an opportunity to work with new co-creators, and build from the ground up.

In 2000, he met best friend, co-creator and his next lyrical protege Chris "Art!ficial" Strickland (aka "Dub Hel!x", R.I.P. 2009) and a rag-tag class of rave DJ hopefuls who would be the next generation of his creative family.

At the time, MJ worked as a DJ equipment salesman at a local music store, and after selling many young towns' kids their first rigs, and tutoring them at the store, it wasn't long before they were all meeting in private, conducting sessions in their homes, collaborating in the studio, making Electronic music of all styles, and throwing parties and raves to audition/premier them.

MJ, and DJ crew, 2001

Bassfam, DJ Lee Jeffrey (of Sweet Science Radio on BMR) and David Jean, 2001

STARSHIP ORIGINS: I - RAT-PACKIN' PUNK-K!DZ (2000-2002)

For the next three years, MJ and his new collaborators would throw, participate in city raves with industry colleagues including Danny The Wild Child, 12" Gangsta, Jordana "DJ 187" LaSesne, and MC Word, eventually came to battle its creative "twin" rave DJ crew, Majik City Junglists (MCJ) in a friendly but furious exhibition match, in 2002.

STARSHIP ORIGINS:
LOVE & WAR" DRUM N' BASS BATTLE,
2002

Being known as tenacious underdogs of the scene, they, incarnate as ANOM!LE/Rocksol!d would cement themselves among their circle as grass-root bad boys with a touch of jazzy panache.

MJ and Ralph Lindstrom of Harmony Productions, 2002

STARSHIP ORIGINS: IV - MJ Takes On American Idol


MJ and his DJ crew, 2002

MJ emcees at Heartbreaker VII, 2007

STARSHIP ORIGINS: II - TALES OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS (2002-2004)

In 2006, MJ's professional attention turned to the fairer sex, beginning a search for more local female acts to counter a deluge of male performance acts.

MJ joins forces w/ Magick City Sirens, 2008

He soon discovered the efforts of burlesque performer, Jezabelle Von Jane, and helped her develop the Magic City Sirens, participating as a co-producer, photographer, and guest performer, for the "Sleep When You're Dead" burlesque series, where he would continue on until 2011.

MJ Dances for Magick City Sirens SWYD Show, 2009

MJ operating the "spot" at a Magick City Sirens SWYD show, 2011

MAGICK CITY SIRENS STAGESHOWS (2008-2011)

MJ, Magick City Siren founder Jezabelle Von Jane and DJ David Jean, post-performance at Imagicon II, 2011.

MJ rides his motorcycle, "Valor!", 2009.

MJ and best friend, Chr!s Art!ficial/Dub Hel!x (R.I.P. 2009), 2009

About six months before Chris Art!ficial's untimely demise in a motorcycle accident, he and bestie, MJ, recorded Chris' debut (and only) album, "The Morning Would", and MJ's "OPX & The Tales Of The Southern Cross", a Hip-Hop tall tell-all about the mythical history of Southside Birmingham, Alabama's creative runaway, communal, and flophouse culture, patroned by their local champion of destitution, Brother Bryan.

Their "TOSC" album was a poetic expose into the sordid history of the formerly creative sprawling zone-turned-corporate wasteland.

STARSHIP ORIGINS: III - The Flight Of The Seraph M (2005-2009)

STARSH!P

By the end of 2009, regardless of regional success, things began to decline for the "SWYD" series with a long string of tragic deaths, including the beau of one of its producers, guitarist, Ted Ledbetter of "Red Harp", and colleague DJ Paul "Gadget" Keith of Majik Ciy Junglists (MCJ), plus the incarceration of long-time friend/colleague, emcee, Harold J "KNCKTRNL" Williams of Majik Ciy Junglists (MCJ), and the passing of Chris Art!ficial (Dub Hel!x), and roller derby girl, and breakdancing galpal, Sarah "#44/Sally Slaughter" Stanfield, all beloved, and in 2009.

This high frequency of calamity deflated their will to continue.

A new show was needed to turn their energy from a sullen negative to a regenerative positive, which soon after spawned a showcase that would become its own brand.

A few months later, MJ suffers an NDE (Near-Death Experience) being struck by a car from his own motorcycle, coming out unscathed, but as NDE's often go, was changed by the experience, which seemed to assist MJ in his innovative formulation of his root idea.

MJ began to slowly build what would in 2010 become STARSH!P, a Sci-Fi sensory fantasy "startup" with its own DJs/musical acts, and an online creative research journal, to reveal how everything they did was done, and how to do so on a shoestring budget.

A grand and noble idea, but a massive developmental endeavor that took longer than his relationship with Magic City Sirens to manifest.

MJ in the studio, 2011

This incarnation involved tireless teamwork from other formerly unsung talent, and crews, but MJs concept was so abstract in its genesis, that not many understood his vision of STARSH!P; not even he truly understood, for it was, as MJ often put it, "precipitating from the heavens like rain, to be assembled as it occurred to him".

MJ generates a star tetrahedron hologram in his studiolab, 2011

With help from several "Old headz" (including Pam "Sonic Warfare" Johnson, Josh "Domenian" Landerfelt, Katie Baggett and Magnolia "Sunshine Black" Marchant of Buglove/Red Team Promotions, and the Pilato family of High Note Lounge) who trusted his vision, they formed a small alliance, premiering themed STARSH!P events, some with laser cannons, togas, visual projections, neon LED hoola-hoopers, and regional DJs/performers of all genres, which ran until 2013.

Even during this time, MJ never stopped making music.

MJ at the helm of the STARSH!P DJ decks at Cosmos, 2014

During which time, he released his "STARSH!P: Excursions Beyond" LP in 2011 under the moniker "Omn!pax", which delved into the cold but intense science of EDM/Electronica, particularly Drum N' Bass.

This album was followed with STARSH!P: Master Class" LP in 2013, adding Dubstep to the spacy sonic saga's list of genres worthy to explore.

He dabbled rather unsuccessfully mobile wedding DJing, but soon had developed into quite a formidable composer of more original works.

MJ photobombs his friends, 2009.

In 2015, MJ began to write again, after almost a decade since he'd written his last lyrical song that wasn't a rap.

Until then, he had been building STARSH!P online, aired a DJ live stream/podcast, and was readying a recording label, for himself, and his next crew's incarnation.

2016 marks MJ's 10th, volume of music, from his humble start, splicing mixes, to his psychonautic explorations of style as "Omn!pax", unto now, where he takes us on a journey into the "Love Dimension".

Whereas before, as "Omn!pax", MJ rarely spoke nor sang, his reassertion of himself as MJ "Darl!ng" is liberated and honest, giving his all in every facet of his production (ie., songwriting, composing, vocalism, rapping, mix decisions, etc.) creating every song on the album in either a different formerly underground genre, or style, past or future.

TAP IMAGE FOR FULL MUSIC CATALOG

STARSHIP has since grown into a creative brand containing an array of other business subsidiaries, including a media network, clothing design, a strong online presence, and a media-rich creative research journal, to show you how to do it all for yourself.

If you let MJ tell it, he'll also be releasing a STARSHIP coloring/children's books, novels, screenplays, cartoons, programs, community centers, and maybe a movie franchise complete with figurines soon, but until then, we'll just have to watch for that rain to "precipitate" whenever it does.

"My quest throughout life is (and has always been) to integrate the analytical, the creative, the mundane, and the superlative together-
..unified, where one may de-compartmentalize, and live as a whole yet extremely dynamic individual, then as a culture of such.

Really, I don't know if I'll ever tour the globe as a world-class singer, be a million seller, or if I'll ever grace the Hollywood red carpet next to the celebs of the day; however, I do know that I'll always be in control of what and how I create, and that whatever I create will amaze those who witness it.

That, and whatever you're doing creatively being an affair of the heart, a labour of love, and a driving force to your momentum in that field, is the real meaning of 'STARSHIP'.

It was never a 'spaceship' of any sort; it rather was, is, and will always represent the infinitely powerful thrust of the impassioned Heart."

-MJ Darling