SO IAM grew up in a faith-centered home, experiencing profound spiritual moments from a young age. Called as a prophet in his teens, he felt a strong purpose to serve others through his gifts. Yet, like the prodigal son, he eventually drifted from his calling, slipping into a carefree and reckless lifestyle. His rap journey began as a joke, handing out flyers for a debut album that didn’t exist during his senior year of high school. But in his freshman year at ASU, after tearing his ACL, he began recording raps in his dorm room as an outlet. Rap soon became both an escape and an obsession, pulling him deeper into the party scene. Eventually, he dropped out to pursue music full-time, becoming a fixture in AZ’s underground hip hop scene as a rapper and producer, releasing independent projects, producing for artists like Knoc-turn’al (Mathmadix), and opening for hip hop legends Camp Lo.

During this period, SO IAM’s music reflected his lifestyle. His early albums—Go F.I.S.H., Southern Fried, Egyptian Owl Style EP, Hunga n Starvacion, and Arizjuana—celebrated the party culture with humor, even satirizing the R&B hook trend in rap at the time. In 2007, just before fully returning to his faith, SO IAM collaborated with Scary Kids Scaring Kids on their Punk Goes Crunk cover of “Notorious Thugs,” which has now amassed over 1.1 million streams. The album itself charted at #86 on the Billboard 200.

After years of struggle with drugs and alcohol, God led SO IAM back to his faith, reigniting the childhood calling he’d strayed from. Embracing his renewed purpose, he released his first Christian Hip-Hop (CHH) album, 357, followed by S.O.I.A.M., featuring the single “All Up On It.” Known for his off-the-top freestyle ability, he became a regular at local cyphers, refining a unique cadence and style that set him apart. His work gained attention, including recognition from DJ Cut Creator, who named his single “Track of the Week.”

After relocating to Los Angeles, SO IAM continued producing for indie artists, landing a placement on MTV’s Buckwild. Eventually, however, the pressures of adult life led him to step away from recording to focus on his career, finish his degree, and pursue a corporate path. While this pursuit brought stability, it left him feeling disconnected from his true purpose.

Now, SO IAM returns as a “prodigal prophet,” embracing his calling with renewed urgency to wake a spiritually sleeping generation and call others back to their faith. His comeback song, Last Friday, recounts his near misses with fate and God’s grace pulling him back from a reckless path. His upcoming EP, Prodigal Prophet, features sounds inspired by Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, and 90s influences flipped with modern twists, blending humor and raw truth over hard-hitting beats.