Though he was born on Chicago's south side and grew up listening to house, Mike Dearborn's recordings for Djax-Up-Beats have been embraced more by the worldwide underground techno and tech-house axis. Though he began his production career in the late '80s, Dearborn retired early after being chiseled by a succession of greedy Chicago labels. A deal with the underground Dutch label Djax gave him another shot in 1991. His nine releases for the label -- including club classics like "Strictly Underground," "Hardcore Swinger" and "Unpredictable" -- made his name around the world as one of the toughest producers around. His full-length debut Ready for War dropped in 1999 on the Majesty label. He's also remixed Hardfloor, Joey Beltram and Steve Stoll. The new millennium saw the release of Don't Fuck with the DJ. ~ John Bush