Growing up in Toledo, OH, emerging singer/ rapper Sonny Nitez describes his upbringing as low key, where not much was happening in the way of fun. As a kid he was shy, but once he opened up to people, he referred to himself as “the initiator of everything.”

Raised predominately by his grandparents, music would enter his life early, as artists like Selena and Michael Jackson were playing in his home, while his parents introduced him to artists including Jay-Z, Usher, and J-Lo among others. By 7th grade, he would begin writing songs of his own, and by high school, he learned how to record tracks and engineer them himself.

After graduating, a trip to California would prove fortuitous when he met up with a fellow Toledan—who engineered for artists such as BJ The Chicago Kid—and offered some sound advice on his music. “He goes, ‘It’s really good, but it’s not grabbing me in the first ten seconds and that’s all that matters,’” Sonny recalls. “He’s like, ‘Your competition isn’t the kids back home. Your competition is Chris Brown. Your competition is Justin Bieber. Your competition are the greats.’ And so that’s when I really started molding my music to where I feel like it is now, which is some of my best.”

Sonny later enrolled at the University of Toledo as a Communications major with a minor in Art, though once he realized their program wasn’t going to put him any further on his career path, he dropped out. Keeping his friend’s wise words in mind, he continued honing his craft. “If the greats are my competition, I need to make music that grabs me like their music grabs me,” he explains. “Instead of waiting for moments that I have in my music, I need to make those moments that they’ve made for me.” He went harder, and while his releases like “Loose Cannon'‘ and “No Tomorrow” started giving him a buzz, it was 2020’s “Morning 2007” that was the game changer, cracking the four million mark on Spotify alone. This later caught the attention of Grammy Award winning producer Dion “No ID” Wilson, who signed Sonny to his label ARTium Recordings, and the rest is history.

As the product of a Black Muslim father and a Filipino mother, Sonny describes his sound as new Americana, where the tangible and abstract elements of culture intersect. “I’m redefining what it means to be an American, because I come from two total opposites,” he explains. “I want my music to resonate with people and I feel like that’s the reason why I can be the bridge. I make music to really relate to others, while speaking on my own experiences.”

With a sound that is both uniquely diverse and genre-bending, the mission for Sonny Nitez is clear. Deliver authentic vibes and create moments through music that will last forever.