Next Wave: Sonny Digital
Written By: Tamiko Hope
Sonny Digital, the multi-platinum producer who has generated billions of streams across bangers for Drake, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Beyoncé, Don Toliver and 2 Chainz, is now signed to Generation Now with the likes of Lil Uzi and Jack Harlow, as an artist. The Michigan-born and Atlanta-based creator, who has shaped the culture with a series of smashes and at the same time earned widespread acclaim on a series of his own mixtapes and singles from The FADER, XXL and more, is turning the spotlight on every facet of himself.
Sonny Digital is showing the world his evolving musicality and who he is today. “In 2023, I’m still a producer, but I’ve always been an artist,” he states. “Overall, I’m just a creative person when it comes to anything musical. Sonny Digital is the producer, and Sonny is the artist. It’s no different from when I first started until today. Now, I just have a platform to show everyone the other side of my artistry.”
Along the way of producing records for others, he assembled what would become his debut album, Delores [Generation Now/Atlantic Records]. Referencing those family ties in the title, it brings everything full circle as he leaps forward sonically. “Dolores is my mom, and I’m just saying, I’m her son. She and my dad encouraged my music. We just never knew how far it would take me. With everything I’m speaking on in this project, the title just makes sense without me having to say too much.”
It practically felt predestined for him to do so. Originally from Nigeria, his dad harbored a passion for music—which Sonny naturally absorbed. At the same time, their heritage inspired him. “My father instilled the importance of making sure your family and the people around you are taken care of,” he notes. “It plays a big role in who I am.” Throughout his childhood, he embraced a diehard work ethic. His brother passed down a dusty MPC, and Sonny spent countless hours on it before perfecting his craft on Fruity Loops. Simultaneously, he honed his abilities by rapping over his own tracks with friends. “I was just giving out beats back then,” he laughs. Breaking into the business, he crafted six cuts for Gorilla Zoe’s King Kong in 2011 at barely 20 years old. However, his beat for YC’s “Racks” [feat. Future] changed everything. It eventually reached gold status, and UPROXX retrospectively noted, “the song that began Future’s rise to being one of hip-hop’s biggest stars only cost $300.”
As always, he lets the music do the talking. The first single “Wakenbake” [feat. Juicy J] instantly intoxicates with its hazy chant, “Wake up, get my blunts rolled.” Through plumes of smoke, he and Juicy J trade blazed-up bars as the beat unravels in an unpredictable rhythm. “I tried to challenge myself to rap over a more intricate beat,” he notes. “Juicy J has been my homie since day one. I wanted to show him love the same way he shows me love.” On “Gotta Slide,” a soulful string sample gives way to a glitchy bounce as he admits, “If my brother died, I swear to God I gotta slide.” The record is poetically raw and personal in nature. “I was rapping about the moment my boy PnB Rock had just died and it was capturing the feeling. I wanted to pay tribute to him with something good.”
With boundlessly creative beats, cinematic storytelling and lots of personal flair, Sonny is about to set the whole game on fire. “I’m trying to give you every side of who I am,” he leaves off. “Some days, I feel like rapping. Other days, I want to make beats or write songs for other people. I’m comfortable doing anything. That’s who I am.”
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