Surely it is not an understatement that SONNY RICH is the voice of today?s average urban youth, and young adults. Born second to the youngest of six brothers and sisters in a single mother home, young Sonny took to the streets of Charlotte North Carolina at the tender age of eleven. Asked why, he states ?My mother was hardly able to pay the bills. As a kid, I wanted nice things, I wanted it all and the street was the only job for an eleven year old kid. No application, no experience needed?. His story is that of many urban youth and young adults. Raised in the crime infested Westside of Charlotte, Sonny?s life experience reflects a point and time of everyone life.
He is no stranger to adversity, by the age of 14 he was kicked out of his mother home. ?I was out of control, my mom couldn?t handle me. My older brothers were in and out of jail, I was bringing drugs and guns in the house. I was doing all type of crazy things on the streets, so she put me put me out?. After two years of running the streets without a sense of direction he ended up in Job Corp. ?My older brother came home from jail and made me go. That was my first real out of state living experience without my family around me. It was crazy; Job Corp was no different than being in jail?. During this time Sonny began to rap and develops his skills as an artist. ?We had people from everywhere, all cities. We used to battle every day, so I wrote on the regular to have something new to spit at all times. Plus don?t forget that I was the kid out of NC, so I had to be ten times nicer in order to shine, and I did?. Sonny left Job Corp after graduating and returned back to the streets as a rapper. He formed the group ?Doe Boy Committee? and there his career as an artist began.
His music illustrates the everyday life of the common urban youth and young men like himself. It mirrors chapters of his life, the dreams and struggle of a young man growing up too fast. It exhibits the good and bad, the ugly and beautiful, the happy and sad.
Sonny brings a genuine swagger to the music industry that has gone stale because of too many smoke screens and facades. His music contains substance and is parallel to the lives of the average man and woman.
?You listen to music today, and you can?t relate to anything you hear.? Says Sonny ?It?s crazy, because everyone is so busy claiming to be so real in this business. There has to be a balance in order for things to work and run smoothly. I keep asking myself, where the fake peoples to bring balance to this whole thing. I want people to relate to my music regardless of what the subject matter is.?
Cory Sparks of SIT Marketing ?Its defiantly a different look, and the feedback from the music is phenomenal.?
With an Fall 2008 release date of his album ?The V.I.R.U.S.? Sonny is one step closer to establishing himself as the new voice of the music industry. His single ?Stunners? is being heard blasting out of various radio stations across the country.
?Man, The V.I.R.U.S. is going to spread and take over the industry.? Asked what exactly ?The V.I.R.U.S.? means. He explains ?It stands for The Voice Inside Rebellious Urban Solider. The V.I.R.U.S. is that inspirational voice you hear in your head when faced with adversity. The single is banging out there. It?s spreading all over the place like a wild California fire? Sonny continues; ?everyone loves it like mom?s cook food. The next single is even more of a banger. I believe that an artist has to give the fans more than one or two hot songs, the whole album have to be hot if you expect people to spend their money on it. I put my all into every song I lay down.?
With the birth of a son, 19 years old Sonny found himself needing to make some changes in his life. He enlisted into the US Army and was shipped off to the Iraq war.
?When I got off the bus, all I could ask myself was why I did this. The Army was like going to prison and getting the weekends off. But I did get to travel and see a few places the block wouldn?t have taken me. It armed me with more to write about as far as my music. As for the gun play, I had a better chance staying in Charlotte. What kept me grounded was writing music and recording my songs over everyone else beats using my computer recorder and burning CDs and selling them. The whole base would pump my mix tapes in their CD players. The love was crazy; I was the super star on the base.?
After he returned home from the Army, Sonny found himself back on the block as if he never left. Realizing that his music was the best asset he had, he decided to take it serious and pursued a career as a recording artist.
?The first thing I did when I returned home was holla at the Doe Boy Committee. We went into the studio and started putting out mix tapes. The first one I put out was ?85 With the Hard Vol.1?. That right there started the buzz in streets of Charlotte.?
The mix tapes worked its way up as far Washington DC, where Kaizer of Red I.D. Management took notice of Sonny Rich talent.
?When I heard his flow on 85 With the Hard, I reached out and contacted him right away.? Kaizer says. ?He was able to flow on any beat, and in most cases made a hotter song than the original. I hit Sonny and told him that I had contact with a label I thought would be good for him. I shopped him around after the getting great feedback on his music. At that time, the deals the majors were offering was the one a smart artist had no business taking.?
Sonny went on to sign with Keeplock Entertainment who is distributed by Fontana Distribution. With a strong team in place, he was able to go into the studios such as Session Works studio and work alongside engineers such as Jeff Mount of Dallas, Texas. Songs such as ?Stunners?, ?Dreams?, ?Er? Body See Me? are a few of the hits of many Sonny have produced. He continue to hit the mix tape circuit in order to maintain his buzz on the streets as he put his album together and visit markets across the country. His latest projects to hit the streets are ?Murder Hitz Mix tape? featuring Djs Kay Sly, and ?The Streets Belong to Me? featuring Dj Berry Bee.
?When I heard this cat, I was like where you find this dude. He was murdering all the hits from 2007. He?s going to be one of the hottest in this music industry. The kid knows how to make good music.? states Dj K Slay. ?I had to host this Murder Hitz mix tape because I knew a lot of these rap dudes out here would hear it and get hurt feelings.?
Dj Berry Bee went on to add ?Sonny Rich is the most complete put together artist we have come across in the Carolinas. His music, image, and his business are in order. He will be the man in the Carolinas.?
Today Sonny reclines in a Ferrari fly yellow Aston Martin, puffing on a cigarette, his own music playing out of the speakers. He states that he has no major features on his upcoming album besides his label mates with a smile on his face.
?I don?t think a new artist should have major feature on his or her album. Being new, you should prove to your fans that you can actually hold an album down by yourself. This also helps built your fan base. Using feature from other major artist usually mean that the new artist feel he needs someone else to make his song a hit. Besides, my CEO don?t need to waste money paying for features. We could use that money to promote my record.?
?Sonny represents what the grind is all about,? John Tucker aka Dr. Teeth who assisted in directing Sonny?s first video for his single Stunners ?staying true, a real great artist that you want to work with. Man, all I can add is watch him rise to the top.?
?Sonny Rich has the right and believability factor that made me sit up and take notice,? Nancy Byron exclaim ?that couple with the grind I knew Keeplock Entertainment would put behind him, made me feel like I had to be part of this team?..Besides, I have always been a sucker for an anti-stunner.?
On board with Sonny Rich are some of the industry best such as Ricardo Hunter of Hunter Promotions, his publicist Nancy Byron of OGPR, Kaizer of Red I.D. management, R.X. and Big Christ of Keeplock Entertainment. Sonny Rich is due to bless the industry with all that is expected of a great artist, he will finally give the Carolinas a voice and open the flood gates for a breed of new artist to emerge.
http://www.myspace.com/sonnyrich704
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