reasonable doubt.
- Apr 8
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
i've been working with sonny at s5 studios for over a decade. what started as an artist - engineer relationship started to develop into a real friendship. we first connected right before i did my always something ep. i can't remember exactly how we connected, but from the beginning the energy was always genuine, professional and easy to build with.
around this time, i was living on park ave in brooklyn across from tompkins projects. the studio was on myrtle ave, which made it easy for me to pull up and lay down ideas whenever i really needed to. sonny had a balcony in the studio that would face marcy projects, we would talk about when he used to play in basketball tournaments in the hood and what the overall feel was musically in brooklyn.
sonny told me about when he heard reasonable doubt when it first dropped and not being able to fully grasp it because he was too young to pick up the witty wordplay. i was actually eight years old at the time, and for sure didn't know anything about jay-z. i became a huge fan later after being introduced to his music because of my steppops, who was also an artist but was also associated with big daddy kane, who played a mentor role for jay-z early in his career.
in a lot of ways, sonny reminds me of my steppops. not literally but how he talks about the music and culture back then. i've had separate conversations with them both and their perspectives on the 90's lines up. there's a consistency in how they describe that era and what it was really like.
i hate comparing back then to now because it can come off as being a hater, depending on the views. i asked sonny what it was like for him musically in the 90's and what the differences he sees in artists. he said the best time in music was the 90's. he talked about how brooklyn had so many unique styles of rappers like boot camp clik, a tribe called quest, leaders of the new school, wu-tang clan and how each played had a significant role in developing the genre.
what really stood out to me was him saying the different styles that emerged during that time. seems like artists not only didn't want to sound or look alike, but they would also even call you out if you were biting someone's style. originality was key. new york was definitely grimmer at the time and consumers would actually have to search for the artists they liked. that reminded me of when i bought reasonable doubt from a mom-and-pop shop in park slope when i was in high school, years after it had dropped.
sonny talks about the culture experiencing the loss of the notorious b.i.g. and how it was felt, especially with the release of life after death. around that same time, dmx emerged with a raw gutter style that introduced a new energy into hip hop. in sonny's view, that was the period marked by both loss and transition that played the role in reshaping the sound and direction or rap.
we spoke about the perspective of "get on" or get signed. one thing he was clear on is that consistency is everything. as simple as that sounds, life gets in the way of just showing up. not only for the artists but for the people who are tapped in with you. focus on the quality of the work but the consistency is really what's key.
truth is, that's something i've struggled with. being consistent, being present has definitely been an obstacle. sometimes i let life pressure pull me away from creating, then when i'm ready to jump back into being an artist for real, it feels like i'm starting from square one all over again.
working from home. sonny stated working in your own space matters, but so does showing up in a real studio. you would think he'd only want artist to show up to studios because he owns one, but the truth is artist should take their time in finding their flow and sound. then come to a solidified studio to sharpen the sound and connect with other artist and producers. honestly, a lot of artists are missing that structure.
we need balance. creating only at home has its pros and cons, just like relying only on the studio does. at the end of the day, everything wraps back to the same consistency, and dedication is what's needed to move everything forward.
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