Vada Azeem is irrevocably tied to Columbus. After growing up on the Northeast side of the city, Azeem studied at the Columbus College of Art & Design for a year, and then mentored youth at the Central Community House in Old Towne East (which you can support at no personal cost by signing up for Kroger Community Rewards<\/a>) for longer. Azeem started rapping at 12, co-founded a hip hop collective at 23, dropped his first solo mixtape three years later, and now, he’s breaking into children’s books.<\/p>\n