Starting a reord label or, in our scenario, rebranding and releasing a record label, is not an easy process. Becoming Good Fruit Co. meant operating more like an actual business, not just as artists releasing periodic projects.

Convicted of my calling, I started rap ministry as a solo artist in 2009. I began writing, creating mixtapes and an album, and performing — I knew this was where the Lord wanted me to be because the responses and feedback I had received were so encouraging.

My parents emigrated from South Korea in 1977 to Frederick, Maryland. It was a rural country town where one of my first memories was seeing older guys smoke cigars in the mall as they waited for their wives to finish shopping.