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. SO IAM started recording raps in his dorm room during his freshman year at Arizona State University—at the height of its notorious party reputation. Fully immersed in the lifestyle, he used rap as an outlet but soon fell deeper into the scene. After tearing his ACL, he turned to rap more seriously, eventually dropping out to pursue music full-time. SO IAM became a fixture in Arizona’s underground hip-hop scene as a rapper and producer, releasing independent projects, producing for Knoc-turn’al (Mathmadix), and opening for hip-hop legends Camp Lo.

During this period, SO IAM’s music reflected his reckless 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 earned over 1.1 million streams. The album itself charted at #86 on the Billboard 200.

In 2008, after years of heavy drinking, drug use, and reckless decisions, God brought him back to faith, reigniting the childhood calling he had strayed from. He embraced this renewed purpose, releasing his first CHH album, 357, followed by S.O.I.A.M.. During this time, he became known for his off-the-top freestyle ability and unique cadence in local cyphers. His work gained recognition, including DJ Cut Creator naming his single “Track of the Week.”

By 2010, SO IAM reluctantly stepped away from rapping, seeking stability through finishing his degree and corporate life. However, he continued producing, landing a placement on MTV’s Buckwild and tracks featuring Glasses Malone, Murkemz, and Crip Mac. Despite his hiatus from rapping, he refined his production and engineering skills, unknowingly setting the stage for his return.

Now, SO IAM returns as a “prodigal prophet,” embracing his calling with urgency to wake a spiritually sleeping generation. His upcoming self-produced album, Prodigal Prophet, blends raw truth, late 90s & 2000s rap influences, and classic sample-based production, flipping 80s and 90s sounds into something new. His next single, “Don’t Let,” channels the energy of early 2000s Roc-A-Fella and Dipset, setting the tone for what’s next.