Back-to-basics MC and purist Jern Eye (born 1978) spent practically all his childhood in Los Angeles. Immersed in the city's underground scene, he participated in several rap battles and forums, including L.A.'s famed Project Blowed and UNITY hip-hop showcases in the early '90s. Within the scene, he met fellow rhymesayer Spear of the Nation, and formed the eventual trio Lunar Heights after finishing high school in 1996. Because of his strong affinity for underground rap groups like Bay Area luminaries Hieroglyphics and Living Legends, he decided to move up north to Oakland, CA, where he and Spear added third Lunar Heights member Khai Sharrief in 2001. After the group released an album, Crescent Moon (2004), Jern Eye released his first solo LP, Authentic Vintage, in 2006 via the NatAural Records label. Before going back into the studio, he wound up performing many shows on the road with members of Hiero and Living Legends in addition to his Lunar Heights crew. With a new label deal on MYX Music, the Bay Area-based MC resurfaced in September 2009 offering The Eye Exam mixtape, an appetizer for his second full-length, Vision, released a month later. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi