About The Founder
Darren E. Johnson aka ANTTEX
Hip-Hop Artist • Record Producer • Filmmaker • Multimedia Innovator
Darren E. Johnson—known musically as ANTTEX and professionally through his creative production label Noise Gallery—is an American artist whose creative journey has spanned the full spectrum of underground culture, commercial music, film, technology, and visual media. A DJ, producer, graffiti artist, technologist, writer, and filmmaker, Darren has consistently blurred the lines between disciplines while shaping multiple eras of culture from behind the scenes.
ORIGINS: SOUND, SPRAY PAINT, AND SUBVERSION
Raised in Jamaica, Queens during the explosive cultural ferment of the late 1970s and early ’80s, Darren’s entry point into creative life was hip-hop itself—raw, underground, unfiltered and in the midst of a burgeoning crack epidemic. As a young kid, he became obsessed with cassette tapes of live sets from pioneering DJs like Grand Wizard Theodore, DJ Divine’s Infinity Machine, The Disco Twins and Grandmaster Flash, as well as iconic MCs like Busy Bee, Cold Crush Brothers, Spoonie G and Kool Moe Dee. Childhood anti-heros like Lorenzo Fat Cat Nichols played a large part in his business aspirations.
By the time he was a teenager, he and his neighborhood crew had scavenged gear and formed their own DJ unit, All City Groove, spinning records at block parties and house gatherings while studying the science of sound manipulation and live mixing.
But music wasn’t the only form of expression. Darren also cultivated a second identity in the graffiti world, tagging train lines as Vega 5. His canvas was concrete, and his style was sharp and cinematic. After multiple arrests by legendary NY transit cops Curly & Ferrari, he was forced to cycle through aliases—eventually landing on the one that stuck: ANTTEX.
GETTING IN THE DOOR: THE BUSINESS OF HIP-HOP
As the hip-hop scene morphed from grassroots movement into a global industry, Darren saw an opportunity to merge creativity with business. In the late ’80s, he got a job driving Damion Hall of the R&B group Guy to rehearsals and events. That small backstage role gave him a front-row education in the music business. Hanging around with influential figures like Gene Griffin and Andre Harrell, he absorbed the structure and strategy behind managing talent and building a brand.
Through fellow Queens native Bryce Wilson—who would later become half of the platinum-selling duo Groove Theory—Darren was introduced to the legendary producer Mantronik, who along with his protégé Ike Lee III, taught him the early techniques of sampling, programming, and beat construction.
Darren and Bryce hustled tirelessly, walking into Manhattan label offices uninvited, demo tapes in hand, ready to crash any meeting that might give them a shot.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
—Muhammad Ali
That grind eventually paid off when Darren landed a record deal with Aaron Fuchs’ Tuff City Records, a label known for its pioneering work in early hip-hop. With Freedom (Aaron Lyles) and Ike Lee III, Darren formed ANTTEX and the Mother Funkin’ Clik, releasing the satirical, funk-laced single Tiger Strips and Palm Palm Trees in 1989, which premiered on DJ Rob One’s Fly ID Show in California. That was followed by the cult-favorite LP Suburban Etiquette—a darkly comic send-up of late ’80s rap culture featuring a then-teenage Havoc of Mobb Deep, as well as Prince AD aka Killa Sha.
The track Understand Me Vanessa (Vanessa Yo) and its accompanying music videos made waves on MTV, BET, and Video Music Box, turning ANTTEX into an underground name to watch. ANTTEX began the construction of a second album where he sought to express himself a bit more honestly and explore some of the more nefarious aspects of his younger day on the streets of Jamaica Queens. Though his second LP was never officially released, tracks like Corner, What Now, and Yeah I Know Santa have resurfaced online to new acclaim, amassing cult status among old-school hip-hop heads.
BEHIND THE SCENES: RUSH, ROSTERS, AND REALITY
In the early ’90s, Darren transitioned into the executive ranks, joining Def Jam/RUSH Producers Management under Francesca Spero and Lyor Cohen, where he worked on talent development and crisis management. His street-savvy presence was instrumental in managing early Mobb Deep, helping broker their Island Records deal and navigating them through a volatile period—most infamously, an incident involving a firearm at the RUSH Management office.
Darren also helped coordinate with a new wave of producers including EZ Mo Bee, Diamond D, and Eric Sadler, while maintaining connections with artists like Busta Rhymes and Leaders of the New School. He later co-founded a management company with Tse Williams, Mickey Williams, and Jamel Hughes, representing artists including CeCe Peniston, 3LW, and underground favorite Chief Kamachi.
NOISE GALLERY & THE UNDERGROUND RENAISSANCE
Determined to carve out a lane for forward-thinking production, Darren launched Noise Gallery, an experimental creative imprint that doubled as a music label and a media lab. Through a joint venture with Jesse Maidbrey’s Libra Records, he served as A&R director and executive producer, most notably discovering and producing the acclaimed group Company Flow, pioneers of independent hip-hop’s golden era.
During the mid to the late-’90s, he also worked with Beatdown Magazine founder Haji Akibade, contributing editorial work and developing a tech-forward prototype called MusicBase, one of the earliest attempts at computer telephony-based music indexing.
But by the late ’90s, the pressures of the music business, coupled with legal trouble—including a weapons charge that led to a pretrial intervention program—pushed Darren to reevaluate. He stepped away from music to immerse himself in design, technology, and self-reinvention.
DESIGN, CODE, AND CINEMA
Darren enrolled at the School of Visual Arts, studying graphic design, desktop publishing, and HTML coding. His tech-savvy quickly translated into professional design gigs for clients such as W Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, Oxford University Press, Bloomberg, and Fast Company.
“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.”
—Leonardo DiCaprio
With guidance from mentor Executive Producer Marcello Bue, he began working behind the camera on commercials and music videos, learning the ropes of production coordination and line producing. This reignited a long-standing interest in filmmaking. He transitioned into events and festival production, becoming a trusted team member for the Tribeca Film Festival, The New Yorker Festival, and other premiere NYC cultural events.
His big break in feature filmmaking came when legendary producer Michael Tadross Sr. brought him on as a production team member for Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. That led to larger roles on major studio films like Hitch, Hancock, and I Am Legend. Under Tadross, Darren mastered the logistics, budgeting, and organizational finesse of studio filmmaking. Later, working alongside Akiva Goldsman—the Oscar-winning writer of A Beautiful Mind—he expanded into creative development, gaining firsthand experience in story shaping, script refinement, and narrative production.
TODAY: SYNCHRONY, STORY, AND SIGNAL
As the founder of Noise Gallery Music, Darren continues to work at the intersection of music and media. He supervises music for film, television, advertising, and video games, develops sync licensing strategies, and mentors a roster of composers and artists. He still produces and releases his own music under the moniker ANTTEX—most recently the singles Yes and Like an Option featuring Switchy Kitty.
Through Noise Gallery Media, he also develops scripted projects for feature films and episodic series, blending his background in hip-hop with his sharp eye for character, conflict, and cultural resonance.
Outside of production, Darren is the co-owner of WillChris Consulting and WillChris Hosting, offering digital and IT solutions for creators and small businesses. He writes essays and cultural commentary under the pseudonym Tawdry Beast, where he tackles men’s health, art, aging, and race with a sharp wit and dark satirical edge—echoing the tonal DNA of his original studio album Suburban Etiquette.
He is currently writing a hybrid memoir and cultural manifesto titled Hip Hop X, which explores the evolution of Black Gen X culture through the lens of someone who lived it from the inside out.
From graffiti trains to studio lots, from late-night mixtapes to big-budget soundstages, Darren E. Johnson’s creative path has never followed convention. His work—under ANTTEX, Noise Gallery, or simply his own name—embodies the spirit of fearless reinvention, cultural craftsmanship, and boundary-defying artistry.
“I’m catching shit you don’t even see falling.”
—Darren E. Johnson
