SO IAM started recording raps in his dorm room during his freshman year at ASU—at the height of its notorious party reputation. After tearing his ACL, he turned to rap more seriously, eventually becoming a fixture in AZ’s hip-hop scene as a rapper & producer, opening for Camp Lo and producing for artists like Knoc-turn’al. His 2007 feature on the Billboard-charting Punk Goes Crunk album has over 1.1M streams.

In 2008, after years of heavy drinking, drug use, and reckless decisions, God brought SO IAM back to faith, giving him a divine calling to use music to bridge cultures. Known for his freestyle skill and unique cadence, he released two CHH projects, but in 2010, stepped away from rapping for stability. He kept producing for programs like MTV’s Buckwild and for artists such as Glass Malone, Mr. Murk, and C-Mac, honing his skills for his return.

Now, SO IAM returns, and his spiritual realignment is powerfully introduced by the single “Shine.” Dissatisfied with the somber tone of his comeback track “Last Friday,” he deconstructed it to its drums and laid a classic Bollywood anthem from ‘Mohra’ on top—a sample he’d held onto for ten years. The result is a declaration of joy and an anthem for trading fear for courage to shine with purpose for God’s glory.