Renowned hitmaker Sonny Digital has a Zen like approach to creating music. He doesn’t set out to make music with a particular sound or strive to fit into whatever box we may conceive. He simply and brilliantly creates great music. And having worked with so many of the biggest acts in music including Future, Drake, and 50 Cent, he doesn’t really need our validation. All he needs is the space to create and he’s going to deliver something extraordinary.
Tell us how your career began as far as being a producer and artist?
I started off using the MPC. From there, I picked up Frooty Loop and kept on going, Bro. That was a minute ago… What inspired me to into it was that Shawty Redd and Jeezy sound back in the day. That was what made me want to see this shit out.
You have worked with a diverse variety of artists including Drake, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Future and so many others. What has been the key to you landing so many highly sought-after placements?
I’m not going to lie to you. I know everybody thinks that there is some kind of formula. It has really been just the stars aligning every time. It is about you putting in the work and being visible, to be honest. I feel like that’s only natural when you have shit going on. When you have shit going on, you’re going to be visible and out on the scene. There’s no map to it, you just put the work in and people will gravitate towards you.
You are now making the transition to being know as an artist. Have you always aspired to be the performer or is it something you are just currently exploring?
I am not going to say that I’m stepping to forefront because I really generalize music as one thing. I feel me as an artist is still making music the same way it is when I’m making beats. It really just depends on whatever I feel like doing at the time. I don’t see it as a question of which one I was doing first because they are always intertwined with each other. Even when I am making songs, I don’t look at my vocals as just words. They are primarily sounds and my voice is the instrument… I treat everything as part of the music. Some days I feel like making songs and other days I may feel like just making beats. I always have the option to do both.
With your experience and overall body of work, what would you say is the major component of hit record?
Shit, man that’s so hard to say. There really isn’t any formula or components to this shit. I didn’t really go into the producing my hit records worrying about whether they would be hits. I focus on making the best music I can and if it works for someone, it works for me. I couldn’t really tell you how that there was any one thing. I wish I could, but I can’t. For me, when a song takes off, it’s very much unexpected to me. I don’t focus on that. I just do what I do and make the music that I want. You really never know. It’s unexplainable, I can’t really tell you how to get there. A lot of my hits weren’t even my favorites.
With all the music you have made over the years, would you say that you have a specific signature sound?
I really don’t have a signature sound per say as I want all my beats to sound different unless an artist asks me to specifically make something similar to what I have previously done. I don’t want to box myself into one specific sound. I am artist. I create art. I like the freedom of not having to limit myself creatively. I like that people don’t really know that it’s a Sonny Digital beat unless it has a tag.
You have a forthcoming project with Atlantic Records, tell our readers about it.
At this time, I am up in the air about how I am going to approach it. I have so many directions I can go. I don’t really want to speak on it too much right now because I haven’t decided on what exactly I am going to do. It might be an album with me rapping on it or it might be a project with me collaborating with different artists. It’s up in the air right now. I’m still putting it all together. I am still exploring both of those ideas; I just haven’t decided which one I will do first. I can’t tell you what it’s going be at this time. Whatever it is, it’s not going to be like anything else. You can trust that.
Be’n Original
