Idasa Tariq, also known as ‘SoulMan IT’, is a Hip Hop Multimedia Artist from Pittsburgh, PA by way of Binghamton, NY. He began writing poetry, R&B, and Hip Hop song lyrics in 2001 and started learning music production and graphic design the following year while still in high school. Being influenced by artists such as Gil Scott-Heron, Blackstar (Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey), and the Last Poets, SoulMan IT set out to continue the legacy of making “music with a message” within Hip Hop and its related art forms.

Since 2008, SoulMan IT has produced songs for Dominique Larue, Jasiri X, Jacquea Mae, Jordan Montgomery, LiveFromTheCity, Blak Rapp M.A.D.U.S.A., and other music artists from the East Coast and Mid-East regions. In addition, he has built his own music catalog containing5 studio albums and 6 EPs, as well as performing for Pharoahe Monche. In 2016 he was featured on AllHipHop’s last annual “Top 25 Underground Hip Hop Artists of 2015” list.

In 2013, SoulMan IT joined the 1Hood Media Academy and served as a teaching artist and Assistant Creative Director until 2018. At the Media Academy, he would work with other talented and community-driven artists in providing Hip Hop workshops & performances that fostered media literacy amongst Pittsburgh’s Black Youth & schools.

In 2016, he joined Guardians of Sound’s Hip Hop Youth Orchestra as a teaching artist, teaching Hip Hop songwriting and music production within small acoustic bands and large ensemble formats. In being a part of the Hip Hop Orchestra, the teaching artists were not only able to provide music production and songwriting skills, but also music instrument learning and performances to youth who have little-to-no access to these kinds of music programming in their own schools and neighborhoods.

Currently, SoulMan is working on and finishing up his Hip Hop album “tilted”, and creating his own multimedia and content house (Fresh Air Flavor) to further provide media education and access to the youth & elderly.