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Biography
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Father
Born in Salem, Oregon, in 1982, I’ve loved music as long as I can remember. My parents moved frequently before eventually divorcing, but both played an integral role in shaping my musical taste. My mom introduced me to the rich, layered sounds of pop through artists like Phil Collins, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Mike + The Mechanics, Sting, Steve Windwood, Tears For Fears, Mr. Mister & Hall & Oates. My dad exposed me to the energy and raw emotion of rock through Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Foreigner, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Eric Clapton, and Peter Frampton. I remember singing along to the radio in the car and imagining what it would be like to stand on a stage in front of a crowd.
Husband
I discovered rap around 9 years old, and things were never the same. There was something about the rhythm, poetry, and creativity of people speaking rhymes over a beat that immediately resonated with me. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Eric B. & Rakim, and other pioneers left an early impression, and as hip-hop evolved, I immersed myself in it. Over time, however, I became increasingly dissatisfied with the superficiality and commercialism I perceived in mainstream hip-hop. I began searching for substance and authenticity, finding inspiration in artists such as Nas, AZ, Cormega, Mobb Deep, The Fugees, Blackalicious, Tupac Shakur, Jadakiss, Capone-N-Noreaga, Fat Joe, Q-Tip, and Erick Sermon.
Around 18 years old, I began recording music. During that season, God used multiple people and circumstances to reach me in a powerful way, drawing me to Himself. As my faith developed, it became increasingly clear that music and ministry were intertwined. Life moved quickly—I was soon married and raising an instant family—but the music continued.
I was also introduced to Christian hip-hop, immersing myself in an emerging underground movement. Artists and groups including ILL Harmonics, Mars ILL, Deepspace5, Tunnel Rats, L.A. Symphony, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Braille, Benjamin, R-Swift, The Ambassador, DJ Maj, Ritchie Righteous, The Remnant, Bizzle, and Datin became staples on my stereo.
Eventually, music developed into a ministry that gave me opportunities to share my faith and my passion for lyricism throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. Between 2013 and 2015, I began to become deeply discouraged. I witnessed betrayal, moral failures, elitism, broken relationships, and other painful realities within Christian ministry. At the same time, I wrestled with career changes, instability in where my family worshipped, and the conviction that I might be neglecting my responsibilities at home.
Friend
Artist
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Child Of GOD!
Eventually, I made the difficult decision to walk away from music. I believed God was telling me to lay it down.
The years that followed became a prolonged spiritual wilderness. I never stopped believing in God or renounced my faith, but I gradually stopped seeking Him with the diligence and passion I once had. My faith suffered severely. I had nearly completed my sophomore solo album, Painful Inhabitance, which I still consider some of the best music I had created, but never released it. Several times over the following years I considered returning to music, but never felt free to do so.
Then, during a particularly difficult season, a pastor made a statement that profoundly impacted me: If you are not helping other people grow in their faith, you are not growing in your own faith.
Something clicked. I realized music had the primary way God had used me to minister to others for years. When I abandoned it, I had not replaced it with anything intentional to share God with others — I had simply stopped spreading the Gospel.I began asking a difficult question: Had God actually told me to abandon music, or had I attributed my own conclusion to Him?
Over the months that followed, circumstances repeatedly brought music back into the conversation. A Men’s Retreat with my brother and several men from his church became a major turning point. Through multiple people and conversations, God seemed to be confirming what I had already been wrestling with: I needed to seek Him again with the passion and zeal I once had. I also had an epiphany of the correlation between my spiritual struggles and those of my wife and children.​
Still, I wasn't convinced that returning to music was necessarily part of that calling. I asked God for a clear answer.
Soon afterward, a coworker randomly told me that a dog his wife had adopted had been named after me. The dog's owner (who ran a dog rescue) had apparently encountered my music years earlier and was moved enough by it to give the dog my last name—which happened to be part of the title of my first album.
I took that as a possible sign, but the next one was even harder to dismiss.
About a week later, I began experimenting with instrumentals on my iPad and wrote a song. One Saturday morning, I recorded a rough reference demo using a cheap microphone. Later that day, my family and I went to Costco. As we approached the entrance, I happened to look over as a woman walked out of the store wearing a shirt with my official artist logo on it —a shirt I had designed more than a decade earlier. I hadn't owned or seen one for years.
I don’t believe in coincidences. I also don’t necessarily think God ALWAYS gives us clear-cut and concrete answers to our questions… Sometimes He allows us to figure things out using our intellect and the guidance of His word & principles. However, there are certainly times when He provides very direct and resounding answers to our inquiries. I received my answer…
After what felt like decades in the wilderness, I stepped back into making music. But this time, the vision was different. The goal was no longer record deals, streams, fans, money, or fame. My primary purpose became simple: to spread the Gospel and honor and glorify God with whatever audience He chooses to provide.Since returning, God has taken me on an incredible journey. There has been adversity, disappointment, healthy challenges, unexpected opportunities, and even some conflict within the Christian music community. I've made enemies, been publicly disrespected by an artist I had admired for years, and experienced many of the same frustrations that once drove me away.
But I've also met and reconnected with incredible people. I've become part of a growing community of believers and independent Christian hip-hop artists across the country and around the world. I've helped develop and co-host a podcast called The WAR ROOM (and our sister show The RAW ROOM) supporting independent CHH artists and became involved in music promotion and publication through The JAMZ Collective, which helped plan and sponsor the first Oregon CHH Summit.
Son
Brother
Host
Through it all, I've learned that the journey isn't ultimately about building my name. It's about being faithful with whatever platform, gifts, relationships, and opportunities God places in front of me.
I don't know what comes next. But I'm grateful for the journey, grateful for the restoration, and grateful for God's patience and grace.
For now, I'm along for the ride—unless and until He tells me to sit down.
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