SonaOne’s come-up reads like a superhero’s origin story. Before he rose to his current place in the upper echelon of contemporary South East Asian pop and hip-hop, he was already demonstrating his head-turning artistic prowess, becoming, by age 12, a respected and accomplished graffiti artist. But the natural edge he possessed in that arena would lead him to bigger, more colourful and defining pursuits, as, by the still-tender age of 15, he was chiming in on the powerful vibrations of hip-hop with his own beats and ear for production. Once he was embraced by Malaysian hip-hop royalty Joe Flizzow into the Kartel Records family in 2010, the stage was set for SonaOne to emerge as a widely celebrated and award-winning rapper, singer, songwriter and producer – and one of the most prized signings of the newly-incepted regional hip-hop powerhouse, Def Jam South East Asia.