Deux Process

The progressive three-man troupe Deux Process started out as just MC Chief Nek (Alan Johnson) and rhyming cohort and producer Vise Versa (Michael Landers) when the group first took shape in 2002. Vise Versa had just left hip-hop group the Procussions right before they departed Colorado Springs, CO, for Los Angeles that same year. Having put in over six years of work to develop the group, he was a bit disillusioned, but he quickly got back on his feet when he teamed up with Chief Nek. They had some success in their Colorado Springs hometown cutting their first 12", The Process, which was originally intended for the Procussions, but Colorado Springs was not conducive to pursuing professional careers in hip-hop. So, in the spring of 2003, they followed the Procussions to Los Angeles. After adding turntablist Shawn Dubb (Shawn Wilson) during summer of that year, they gradually made progress, connecting with L.A. locals DJ Quik, DJ Rectangle, and L.A. Symphony. However, their careers accelerated because of the MySpace web community. Some of Deux Process' tracks were included on a couple of MySpace music compilations; moreover, an A&R staffer for indie company Avatar Records caught wind of the group through their MySpace web page. Avatar signed them in May 2005 and issued their full-length debut, In Deux Time, in January of the following year.