Sonne Black

Born in Yonkers but raised in Queens, Sonne Black grew up with hip hop in his blood. At only twelve years old, he discovered his hidden talent for lyricism and wordplay while fooling around with some of his classmates in middle school, and from that moment on, he knew his gift was meant for hip hop. Today, at twenty-one years old, Sonne still loves hip hop as much as he did in his childhood: "Hip hop means everything to me. I knew I had to make it my life and I wanted to make it my life since I started rhyming. Since my first battle, since my first show, I knew what I was put here for." As an emcee, he takes his wordplay and flow very seriously. A self- proclaimed perfectionist, Sonne goes through every bar and line meticulously and is oftentimes is own worst critic. As a personal goal, he makes a conscious effort to deliver only music that is "real as can be and on point" and has acquired an unpredictable flow so that he can reach his listeners with a wide array of tastes and musical preferences. What he promises his listeners and fans is raw, uncut New York talent, creative music with "four smooth edges and no slack." Ramell Hurdle, a.k.a. Sonne Black, received his stage name in high school because of his light skin complexion. However, "Black" was added on in his young adult years based off of the character from the movie Donnie Brasco, because of how he made moves. Along with his brother (Yung Millz), producer (Castro), and studio mates (Cartell, Mike Don and Nick Hollywood), Sonné is an integral part of the Queens-based team, Crown City. Together, the group is representative of Queens' distinctive flavor of hip hop, and the team mates all bring with them their own interpretation of that sound. Sonne believes that although hip hop is "Where it needs to be for the simple fact that being different and Creative is what hip hop is all about," he does aspire to bring a new Flavor to the game. As a solo artist, Sonné doesn't "look UP to anyone," but instead "looks AT Jay-Z, Ghost face Killah, Biggie, Tupac and Joe Budden as the top creative dudes in the game," and finds inspiration from these artist's personal talents in the hip hop game. His dream collaborations include "joints with Beanie Siegal, Ne-Yo, Grafh, Jae Millz, Peedi Crack, Amerie, Keyshia Cole, T.I., and Ludacris (just to name a few)." For Sonné Black, the best part of being an up-and-coming emcee knows that "at just twenty-one I am too young to be scared, but old enough to be wise enough not to make stupid, immature moves." Overall, he embodies what is truly hip hop in that he priorys artistry over money, representation over exploitation and natural-bred talent over synthetic dreams. This is his year; the game is for his taking. Sonne Black is a name to remember, because soon, everyone will know it.