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In early 2012, Atlanta-based rapper Alex Faith toured with Christian hip-hop supergroup High Society Collective — formed by artists Sho Baraka, Swoope, J.R. and Natalie Lauren. 

Faith wasn’t a rapper on High Society, though. He managed the tour. At this point, his music resume consisted of recording, mixing, mastering and featuring on Sho’s 2009 mixtape Barakology, engineering Lecrae's single "Far Away" and much of Sho's 2010 album Lions & Liars, and spot engineering on several other projects.

Faith had never released solo music of his own, but he planned to, and an artist he really wanted to work with just so happened to be on tour with him — J.R., who now goes by Courtney Orlando. “Hey bro, I want to do some music with you,” Faith told Orlando. “I’m thinking about getting into rapping.”Orlando didn’t even think about it.

“No,” he said. Orlando recently told Rapzilla, “I’m that way with everybody. If I don’t know you and no one has spoken of you or your work, I can’t work with you.”

Orlando knew of Faith’s work soon enough.

That summer, Faith signed with Collision Records and dropped his mixtape Honest 2 God. The following year, Collision A&R Wit reached out to Orlando to work with him on Faith’s label debut album, ATLast.

“Wow,” Orlando said, “this kid’s for real.”