Born Eric Heim in Tokyo, Iya cut his musical teeth in Minneapolis with the Caribbean-inflected band Shangoya, playing saxophone and guitar as well as contributing vocals. He broke from the band to move to the West Coast for a year, and returned to Minneapolis having converted to Rastafarianism. Mixing spiritual reggae stylings with R&B and hip-hop, Iya recorded his debut album, Send the Love, in 1998. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi