RJ
RJ, affectionately known as “SO LEFT” by his Soul Food Cypher family, is a one-of-a-kind MC who thrives on the unexpected. One moment he's flipping rapid-fire flows mid-verse, the next he's breaking into falsetto melodies, dance moves, or playful accents—all coming straight out of left field. RJ doesn’t just rap—he experiments in real time. Guided by his personal mantra, “You can probably do it a different way,” he continually challenges convention, encouraging both himself and his audience to embrace reinvention.
His connection to Hip Hop goes all the way back to its original roots. RJ’s mother was a rapper in the South Bronx scene, attending the legendary block parties that marked the birth of the culture. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, and raised in Atlanta after a brief time in Brooklyn, RJ was surrounded by the sounds of funk and R&B—George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic. It was through hip hop’s transformation of these sounds through sampling that first caught his attention. Artists like Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Ludacris, Kanye West, and Jay-Z became early influences as he began carving his own artistic path.
As a kid, RJ would rewrite jingles and familiar songs with his parents, remixing tradition into something new—a habit that would later define his approach to music. He began with spoken word poetry before transitioning to rap, and his first taste of freestyling came during a military college cypher. But he craved something more positive than the cyphers he’d attended. When he discovered Soul Food Cypher, it felt like home. He found a space to experiment and grow in a positive atmosphere. The cypher sharpened his artistry and gave him communication skills that continue to enrich every area of his life, from public speaking to his relationships and even his marriage.
Every time RJ steps into the circle, he brings energy, presence, and intensity— most often with a smile. He’s a living reminder that creativity flourishes when we take risks and lean into the unknown. His artistry inspires others to break habits, challenge norms, and find their own left turns. RJ reminds us that we don’t have to do things the way we’ve always done them. We can flip the flow. We can sing in falsetto if we want to. We can live, speak, and create a different way—so left. And that might just be the most right thing we could do.