Aaron Hoffman (born August 16, 1985), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

SonReal, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

singer, rapper, and songwriter signed to the Black Box Recordings record label.

Musical career

2006 - 2012: ''Early Career'' & mixtapes

SonReal began his career in 2006 with the release of "Trapped in the Streets" (2006), followed by a series of mixtapes he recorded while living in

Vancouver, BC Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. These included: ''Good Morning'' (2008), ''The Stroll'' (2009),''The Lightyear Mixtape'' (2010), ''Where's Waldo'' (2010), ''Words I Said'' (2012), ''Good News'' (2012), and ''One Long Day'' (2014). 2012 also saw the release of ''The Closers,'' a collaboration with Toronto's

Rich Kidd Ritchie Acheampong (born April 28, 1987), better known as Rich Kidd, is a Canadian hip hop recording artist, record producer and film/video director from Toronto, Ontario. He is a two-time nominee for the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Y ...

which was nominated for a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2013. It also included the critically acclaimed single "Hometown"''.''

2013 - 2016: "Everywhere We Go" & EPs

In the summer of 2013, SonReal released the single and music video for his song "Everywhere We Go". The video for this release boasted the best talent show sequence since

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high- ...

and has racked up over 32 million plays on YouTube to date. His subsequent EP, the Juno-nominated ''For The Town'' (2015), continued the visual tradition, including some of the most creative music videos on the web in "Preach", "For The Town", and "Woah Nilly". In 2016, SonReal released ''The Name'' EP which included hit singles and music videos for "No Warm Up" and "Can I Get a Witness". "Can I Get a Witness" peaked at #52 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart and was certified Platinum in Canada.

2017 - 2018: ''One Long Dream, The X Factor'' & standalone singles

In August 2017, SonReal released his first full length studio album entitled ''One Long Dream''. Producers on the project include Rahki (known for his work with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

, Syd, and

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

), Alex Lustig, and the legendary

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1973), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and DJ from Los Angeles. He is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific (along with rapper Chace Infinite) an ...

. This release saw the subsequent music video releases for the singles "Repo Man", "Grammy Song (Live)", "Problems", and "Potential". SonReal made his debut international radio appearance on Sway's Universe in August 2017 to promote the release of his album, which also included a live on-air freestyle during Sway's iconic "5 Fingers of Death" segment. Following the release of this album SonReal released the song "My Friend" (produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Charlie Handsome) on November 2, 2017. This song is a deeply personal and touching tribute to his late father Glenn Hoffman, who suffered a heart attack while SonReal was on tour in early 2016. A music video for ''My Friend'' was also released in November 2017. In April 2018, SonReal was announced as a judge on the fifth and final season of the Canadian version of ''The X Factor'' replacing

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograp ...

. He became the first and only rapper to join since the show's inception. SonReal mentored the Groups category on which his act, rap trio CZN, won. In July 2018, SonReal released the single "Have a Nice Day". The quirky music video for "Have a Nice Day" has since been nominated for a Juno Award for Video of the Year in 2019. along with a second nomination for a

Prism Prize The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada.Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...

as part of their campaign to end Cyber Bullying. In 2020 SonReal was selected alongside Northcote,

JJ Wilde Jillian Dowding (born 1992), known professionally as JJ Wilde is a Canadian rock singer from Kitchener, Ontario. She released her debut EP, ''Wilde Eyes, Steady Hands'', in 2019. Her debut single "The Rush" simultaneously reached #1 on Canada's mo ...

and

The OBGMs The OBGMs (The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores) are a Canadian punk rock band from Toronto, Ontario. They are most noted for their 2020 album ''The Ends'', which was a shortlisted finalist for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. The band consists of vocalist D ...

as one of four musical acts to be promoted by

Collective Arts Brewing Collective Arts Brewing is a craft brewery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, founded by Matt Johnston and Bob Russell. It is a grassroots craft brewery whose mandate is to combine "the craft of brewing with the inspired talents of emerging and season ...

's Audio/Visual Lager, which publicizes independent musicians with special limited edition band-themed cans.

2019: ''The Aaron LP''

In February 2019, he teased this upcoming album with the release of the lead single "Parachute". In typical SonReal style this single also saw the release of a unique music video.

Tours & Live Appearances

SonReal's live shows started coming together in 2008 when he met DJ Rich-A in

. Together, the pair played live shows across Canada and the US. This would lay the groundwork for what would evolve into SonReal's live show as it is known today.

''Everywhere We Go Tour (2014)''

In 2014, SonReal and DJ Rich-A were booked as the opening act on a 53-date tour with Seattle rapper

Grieves Benjamin Laub (February 23, 1984), better known by his stage name Grieves, is an American hip hop artist based in Seattle, Washington. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he lived in Colorado, San Diego, and New York City. He was signed to Rhymesayers E ...

which exposed him to a new audience of listeners. Previous Canadian domestic tours also included a direct support for

's Ontario campus tour in February 2013, a 2014 Canada wide tour as direct support for

Down With Webster Down With Webster is a Canadian rap rock band from The Beaches area of Toronto who signed with Universal Motown in April 2009. Down with Webster was originally formed for a middle school talent show. The band released their first official EP, '' ...

, and SonReal's own 2014 headlining ''Everywhere We Go Tour'' in BC, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. In February 2015 SonReal and DJ Rich-A joined Canadian hip hop artist

Classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...

as direct support on his 26-date national ''Greatful Tour''.

''For The Town Tour (2015/2016)''

SonReal kicked off his own North American ''For The Town'' tour in Canada in May 2015. This 28-date headlining tour took him through eastern and western Canada as well as the United States. Another key opportunity as an opening act came in 2016 when SonReal headed out with

Jon Bellion Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his song " All Time Low," along with his writing and producing c ...

on an international tour in support of Jon's album ''The Human Condition'' in June/ July 2016. It was during The ''Human Condition Tour'' that SonReal expanded his live show to include guitar player Joey Resly.

''No Warm Up Tour (2017)''

At the top of 2017, SonReal embarked on another 25-date headlining ''No Warm Up'' tour throughout Canada and the United States in support of his single ''No Warm Up'' and upcoming album ''One Long Dream''. This was the first tour where SonReal added live drums to his band, played by Colanthony Humphrey.

''One Long Dream Tour (2017)''

''One Long Dream'' was released globally in August 2017, and SonReal immediately hit the road on a 45 date ''One Long Dream'' North American headlining tour in Sept - Dec 2017. This tour included DJ Rich-A (DJ, Keys), Colanthony Humphrey (Drums), Peter Huang (Guitar). This tour continued into early 2018 with 19 more dates being added in North America in Feb/ March 2018. In addition to this tour SonReal also performed at the

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

Kickoff Show at the CFL's

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cha ...

on November 26, 2017 in Ottawa, Canada.

''SonReal Goes Sightseeing Tour (2018)''

Having gained a large fan base touring North America over the last 4 years, SonReal took his live performance to Europe for the first time in Oct/Nov 2018. This included shows in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Ireland, and Denmark as part of his ''SonReal Goes Sightseeing Tour'' in support of ''One Long Dream'' and his 2018 singles.

Discography

Studio albums

2019: ''The Aaron LP'' 2017: ''One Long Dream''

EPs

2021: ''I Can't Make This Up'' 2016: ''The Name'' 2015: ''For The Town''

Mixtapes

2014: ''One Long Day'' 2012: ''Good News'' 2012: ''The Closers'' (with

) 2012: ''Good News'' 2012: ''Words I Said'' 2010: ''The Lightyear Mixtape'' 2010: ''Where's Waldo'' 2009: ''The Stroll'' 2008: ''Good Morning'' 2006: ''Trapped In The Streets''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

SonReal Official websiteSonReal FacebookSonReal BandcampSonReal InstagramSonReal Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonreal Living people Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers 1985 births Musicians from British Columbia People from Vernon, British Columbia 21st-century Canadian male musicians