Born in January 1971 and raised in Chicago, Johnson joined the local music scene at a young age, first as a breakdancer and then DJ’ing by the time he was 13 years old. Johnson began producing in 1987, creating tracks for Chicago house labels such as Dance Mania, Cajual, Defected, Peacefrog and Moody. He rose up the ranks in the Chicago house music community and became a key figure in its second wave during the mid-′90s.