Music
Press
Sona Ekumeri knows that the words "Man in the Mirror" are unmistakably associated with Michael Jackson's fourth No. 1 hit of 1988. But after everything the 20-year-old Milwaukee rapper has been through, those four words ended up having a very profound, personal meaning to him, King of Pop or no King of Pop.
In a bold move, Sona named his debut album after Jackson's poignant single, and when it's released on June 25 (also his 21st birthday), he's is hoping "Man in the Mirror" can take on a new, updated and local identity -- one that isn't afraid to be real in a genre he says is faulted for often being fake.
"I named (the album) that because it's based in reality," he says. "If you stand in front of the mirror, the person you see is the real you. At times, people hate to see that person. At times, people don't want to be seen for who they are and they go around acting differently."
Born in Cameroon in West Africa, Sona moved to Milwaukee at the age of 17 to pursue his dream of becoming a recording artist. Now, as a local rap artist, producer and label founder -- he started Imperial Records last year -- he says his goal is to bring about a positive change in the Milwaukee hip hop community and help the scene achieve national recognition.
Achieving this goal, he says, beginning with getting real.
"I don't rap about bitches and hoes or anything like that. I talk more about the realities of life -- like the suffering I saw my whole life in Africa. So I take the things I've experienced and try to figure out what we can do to make it better. I've heard so many people rap about having stuff that they don't have, like 22-inch rims on the Cadillac. But you should see what they are actually driving. Basically, they don't accept that picture of who they are; they try to picture someone else. If Lil' Wayne wants to talk about having diamonds, that's fine 'cause he's got them, but if someone like me stands at the microphone talking about things I don't have, how is that going to profit me?"
As a child in Cameroon, Sona had two primary interests: becoming a doctor to work on a treatment for HIV, and -- thanks to a video game -- music.
"I didn't even know that I could do music until I was 12 years old," he says with a French-influenced accent. "My brother and I were playing Sega and when the instrumental music came on we just started freestyling and flowing to the rhythm of the song. Ever since then I saw that there was something in me that was different from the other kids."
He started familiarizing himself with American music and French hip-hop, which was taking off at the time, and gained a bit of notoriety doing rap battles around town. By age 17 he had worked his way into a record contract, but at the verge of signing, he and his older brother moved to the United States, arriving in Milwaukee in July 2003.
"I had to start everything from scratch. People ask me why I came to Milwaukee and I don't look at it as because my dad was here, I look at it as there was a greater purpose for me here in Milwaukee and I see myself as the person who is going to create an impact and change in the music in Wisconsin. Milwaukee's got a lot of talent, but most of these people never get the chance to be heard on a national level."
He enrolled in the pre-med program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but ultimately graduated in 2006 with a degree in biochemistry.
"After I graduated, everything changed," he says. "My interest now was primarily music. I took some of the money I'd saved and recorded at the Record Lab Studio in Riverwest in 2006."
Although not officially released until June 25, "Man in the Mirror" has been climbing national charts, including the CMJ new music report for the hip hop genre. Locally, you can hear his single, "Dreams," on WKKV-FM (V100) and nationally, well, take your pick of college stations in Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Chicago, Miami and a dozen others.
http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/sona.html - Onmilwaukee.com
Africa marches to the beat of its own drum. SONA was
influenced by American R&B and French Hip-Hop as a
young man that led to a Cameroon curried free styling
flow that became his own. His two track American
single “Man In The Mirror” will surely make you want
to be the first to catch his soon to be released LP of
the same name. I know radio stations are gonna be all
over SONA’s music like rats on cheese!. His first
video “Dreams” is available on YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DCK4S5pu-M) and will
bring tears to your eyes and leave a lump in your
throat - Rap Fanatic Magazin
Charting as #2 CMJ adds - CMJ
WUPJ Johnstown, PA
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 BLUE SCHOLARS BAYANI Rawkus
2 RICO PABON Louder Than Fiction Hard Knock
3 MARCO POLO Port Authority Rawkus
4 AMIR Like A Thief In The Night Uprising
5 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
6 ICON THE MIC KING Mike And The Fatman Uprising
7 ADDICTIV Little Game Urban Heat
8 PHAT KAT Carte Blanche Look
9 SOCALLED Ghettoblaster JDub
10 LIL' TROY We Swangin' Short Stop
KFAI Minneapolis, MN
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 BLUE SCHOLARS BAYANI Rawkus
2 DESDAMONA The Source Fuzzy Slippers
3 VARIOUS ARTISTS ArtDontSleep Presents From L.A. With Love Milan
4 BEASTIE BOYS The Mix Up Capitol
5 MR. V Welcome Home Vega
6 VARIOUS ARTISTS Night Owls 3: The Chiropractor's Goldmine Syntax
7 SOCALLED Ghettoblaster JDub
8 YUNG MARS Yung Mars Self-Released
9 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
10 CAVEMAN THEORY The Stone Quartet Break'n
KDNK Carbondale, CO
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 BEASTIE BOYS The Mix Up Capitol
2 DJ JAZZY JEFF Return Of The Magnificent BBE-Rapster
3 NO LUCK CLUB Prosperity Expansion Team
4 J DILLA Ruff Draft Stones Throw
5 EL-P I'll Sleep When You're Dead Definitive Jux
6 LIFESAVAS Gutterfly: The Soundtrack Quannum-TVT
7 ZEPH AND AZEEM Rise Up Om
8 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
9 MR. V Welcome Home Vega
10 PHAT KAT Carte Blanche Look
KSAU Nacogdoches, TX
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 LIVIN OUT LOUD Do Your Thing Kin
2 ADDICTIV Little Game Urban Heat
3 REMEDY SQUARED* Ahead Of The Game*
4 SHOCK DA WORLD Sugar N Honey Pro Audio
5 PREZ-E-DENT We Smoking white horse
6 SOCALLED Ghettoblaster JDub
7 DESDAMONA The Source Fuzzy Slippers
8 XV COMPLEX XV Complex
9 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
10 THEORY HAZIT Extra Credit HipHop Is Music
KVNF Paonia, CO
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 SAGE FRANCIS Human The Death Dance Epitaph
2 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
3 HIGH PRIEST Born Identity SoundInk
4 OMNI Battarie NH
5 WAX TAILOR Hope And Sorrow Decon
6 SURREAL AND DJ BALANCE Future Classic HipHop Is Music
7 JUBA DANCE Orange Audio8
8 COMMON Finding Forever Geffen
9 THEORY HAZIT Extra Credit HipHop Is Music
10 TRU PAZ Concrete Kings Urbnet
M3 Radio New York, NY
Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version
1 TEAM SHADETEK Pale Fire Sound Ink
2 SONA Man In The Mirror Imperial
3 SHOCK DA WORLD Sugar N Honey Pro Audio
4 SILK FIRE Hoola Hoop Silk Fire
5 SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM On All Frequencies Subatomic Sound
6 SAGE FRANCIS Human The Death Dance Epitaph
7 MR. V Welcome Home Vega
8 OMNI Battarie NH
9 AMIR Like A Thief In The Night Uprising
10 WAX TAILOR Hope And Sorrow Decon
- CMJ
ummer is a busy time for music and that's especially
true for the folks at Mia Mind Music. A slew of
releases have made their way across my desk covering
everything from Jazz to Gospel. Here's the rundown of
what Mia Mind has been up to as of late...
Up first is Cameroon based artist, Sona Lionel. His
first single, Man in the Mirror is a mix of pop and
hip hop and sounds as if the guy has always lived here
in the states. If anyone has a story to tell it would
be him. Raised in poverty in a small African nation,
Sona obviously has a unique perspective on things and
it's reflected throughout the double a-side single.
"Dreams," for example in one word says more than an
album full of songs could. Sona is now out there
trying to live his dream of being a successful artist
and with a delivery as good and legit as his, he
should have no problem.......
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/life/music/news-article.aspx?storyid=85409
- NBC
Africa has always marched musically to the beat of its own drum. For SONA it was the influence of American R&B combined with French Hip-Hop that led to a Cameroon curried free styling flow he could truly call his own. If the two tracks on his first American single titled “Man In The Mirror” are any indicator of his soon to be released LP of the same name then I predict he’ll be rocking the charts with his joints before this year is over. The first cut “Dreams” has lyrics that will bring tears to your eyes and leave a lump in your throat. The follow up “Ain’t About” has SONA spitting rapid rhymes along side the best MCs in the game. I’ve been saying for a long time that Rap music is overdue for a makeover and I do believe SONA may lead the evolution
http://www.hotindienews.com/reviews/music/2007/05/0006.php - HOT INDIE NEWS .com
Discography
Dreams
Ain't About
Photos
Bio
In the depths of night, far across the Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of world, in the Dark Continent, "Africa" is found a small country called Cameroon. That’s were “Sona Lionel Ekumeri” was born. During the late 1980’s, Lionel Richie’s hit swept across the globe. Sona’s mother “Mama J.” a big fan of Lionel Richie decided to name him Lionel. After He was born, he was placed in the hands of his dying great grandmother, who named him “Ekumeri” meaning “it met me” after a long period of being asked by her cult members to sacrifice him. The name Sona on the other hand means gold and nobility.
From birth, Sona was surrounded by poverty and misery. His grandmother struggled everyday to raise a family of ten on a budget lower than a dollar a day. Sona was also surrounded by crime; the streets took the law into their own hands. The harsh life gave both Sona and his older brother (Emmanuel Nangia) a quick and swift adaptation to the street life. At the early age of 8, both brothers conned the street dealers, negotiating street deals to make a little extra money.
At age 12, the two brothers moved to Buea, a small city on the southwest side of Cameroon, and that is where he was introduced to hip-hop. After free styling a clean 16 bars over a Sega Genesis instrumental, Sona for the first time had proven to himself and his brother that he could rap. The two brothers started entering local rap competitions where they both came out victorious and were made champions. The whole city knew them as the “Two Brothers.”
At age 14, Sona and his brother moved back to French Cameroon, were at the time French hip-hop was slowly sweeping the streets. The young rapper and his brother got straight to business to create a name for themselves in their new environment. The brothers entered rap battles where their cinematic style won the hearts of the streets and attracted more fans, just as a magnet attracts metal. His realistic rhymes drew the crowd and quickly won Sona popularity as one of the best MC’s in Cameroon. The rising star created a shockwave across the nation and the name Sona got into the ears of record executives in Cameroon. Just as the record label was finalizing the contract terms in 2003, the two brothers left Cameroon to the United States of America to see his dreams come to reality. The two brothers settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After a year of adjusting in the United States, while enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Sona, undercover started the rap scene in America. The young rapper started gaining notoriety among his counterparts at school.
In 2006, Sona decided to launch his own label (Imperial Records) with his vision to break in the game and change not only rap, but music. After two years, in the states, Sona got back into the studio and started recording his album titled, Man in the Mirror. With his first single Titled Dreams, Sona Plans of rocking the charts are slowly coming to reality, just as how his dreams of coming the united states came to reality. In his eyes is both blood and tears, the young artist is paving the way for other Un opportune Africans in Africa.
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