Whether it was music or another route, Kia Shine was determined to make it out of his rough hometown. His numerous fans, however, are more than relieved that Shine chose to pursue a rap career. He grew up in the notorious Frazier neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee surrounded by the devastation of drugs. He loved both hip-hop and soul music from a young age. Instead of going toward music in the beginning, Shine took a career with casino company Harris Entertainment. He was ambitious in his work with the company, getting offered a promotion to Harris's headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada.

But his path would not take him to Sin City just yet. Shine turned down the promotion to help produce the group L.I., which was his younger brother's group. He used both his business sense and his love for music to get the group noticed, which eventually took him to New York City. He started working with Ruff Ryders and Universal Music as a producer as well as forming his own independent production team called Rap Hustlaz. With Rap Hustlaz, he signed artists like Yo Gotti and Gangsta Blac, helping to launch their careers with the help of distribution by TVT. His production career came to a grinding halt when TVT backed out.

Instead of wallowing in his losses, Shine took the opportunity to start working on his own solo career. He started local, releasing the single "Respect My Fresh" in his home city of Memphis in 2006. The popularity of the single skyrocketed, leading to a deal with Universal Motown. He released his debut album, aptly titled Due Season, in 2007, which featured singles like "Stunt Glasses at Night" and "Krispy. The latter singles made national waves on the charts. That same year, he won the Southern Entertainment Award for Independent Artist of the Year.