What Makes a Real MC? | Musician & Rapper Sunny Black - ListenUp Podcast

He’s built for the stage, obsessed with style, and still chasing that feeling hip hop gave him the first time he saw Run DMC. We sit down with Sunny Black, a Paterson, New Jersey rapper now active in the Virginia hip hop scene, and get the kind of story you only hear from someone who’s lived multiple eras of the culture. From cardboard breakdancing at home to sharpening his pen around the golden era sound, Sonny explains how the roots shaped his voice, presence, and the way he moves through music.

We get into the artists and mentors that set the bar, including KRS-One, plus the legends he’s shared stages with. Sunny also breaks down the origin of his name, why he values craft over clout, and how he stays independent by doing the footwork himself. If you care about lyrical hip hop, performance mindset, and what it takes to build a real local following, there’s a lot here to steal for your own path.

Then we zoom out to the modern rap game: why change is inevitable, what worries him about violence-as-content, and how AI in music could reshape everything from production to creativity. He also shares why he keeps his music clean while still delivering hardcore energy, which lets him perform anywhere and turn every set into a show, roses included.

Tap in, stream Sunny Black’s music, and let us know what you think about where hip hop is headed. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the conversation.

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Sonny Black

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Hello everyone, I'm Al Nealy with Listen Up Podcast, and today we have hip hop artist, rapper Sonny Black.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Indeed. Peace, face, peace.

SPEAKER_03 0:37

How you doing? I'm good. Good. Good. I've been trying to get you in here for a while. Ran into you at the fashion show. Was extremely impressed. Started talking to you. You're a personable person. Very fashionable. Thank you. So for all y'all, you gotta look him up on IG at what is it, Sunny? Sun dot black.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Sundot. Sundot black77. That's right. I G. Yeah. Um S-U-N-D-O-T Black.

Paterson Roots And Early Influences

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Yeah. So you can see what I'm talking about. But uh thanks for coming in. Indeed. All right. Pleasure for having me. Yeah. I'm always interested in a nice little interview. Absolutely. So tell us how did you get started in uh the hip hop game, rap game? Well Well, first of all, you know what? We should probably give you a background, you're where you're from. Where you from? I'm from Jersey.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Patterson, New Jersey.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Um, yeah, I'm from Patterson, New Jersey. Uh home uh Joe Clark Lean on Me. Oh man. Um Lou Duva, home uh uh Hurricane Carter, you know, home of the home of the Queen. Is Latifa from there? She's from Norwich. Okay. Or he's orange, you know, which is only like 10-15 minutes. Okay. You know, um, but yeah, that's where I'm from. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

Your influence. Because I I have to tell you, your um, your style, the way you were rapping, spoke to me like the from the 90s. Okay. So I'm assuming that's where your inspiration comes from, right? Yeah, definitely. Okay. So so how'd you get started? We know you're from uh Patterson.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, my story is a long story. Yeah, let me tell you. We got topics. I'll tell you when I first saw Run DMC when they had the first video. Yeah. Um, what was the name of the video? Um when they the very first video got played on MTV. I fell in love with breakdancing. From that day on. Okay. This is like a book. I fell in love with breakdancers. I taught myself how to break dancing. I used to watch that video all night and put me a cardboard box in the house and started twisting and turning. So, and that was the love of hip-hop for me, I believe. Okay. Were you good at it? I've gotten good, yeah. I was nice. I was nice.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Oh, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

And that led to then doing music. Okay. You know what I mean? Because like I said, hip hip hop and fashion, breakdancing, that all go together. It's always been, you know what I mean? Uh style, uh, how you dress, what you look like.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Um, yeah, so yeah, the hip hop industry has influenced culture. I I think it's influenced culture in the last 40 years. Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. So it even went so far as to get a black president elected. So um, who were you inspired by growing up as far as artists?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Um, I can name some cats, probably, you know, people probably won't know who I'm talking about. Bram Pooberg. Uh if you're our age, you know. You know, Grand Pooba. Um one of my favorite groups was um um Oh god, Farmanchinum. Um Organized Confusion.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Oh, I remember though.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

You know what I mean? Yeah. Also, you know, I got some people of my own that's been in the music industry, my man King's son, uh, grew up with him. Um so we all you have videos, you have content of him on your IG, right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's one of my brothers. Um we all grew up like listening to hip hop around the Rockham era, Big Daddy King, you know what I mean? And we used to have a group called The Funky Righteous, me and my brothers. Then we had a group called me and my brother, Sonny Red, called Flesh and Blood. Yeah. So, you know, music, we always did music, man. We always been in some type of, you know, in hearse with the music. You know what I mean? It was dancing, rapping, or whatever. You know, it's always been music.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Yeah. Um the name Sonny Black. Okay. I met you, you I saw you, you introduced yourself, Sonny Black. First thing I thought of was Donnie Brasco. You say, that's where I got it from.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

And I've been telling a lot of cats, there's a lot of people out here named Sonny Black. You know what I mean? It's a lot, yeah. You know, um, we go through our little things, you know what I mean? Who's well let me tell you something. First of all, tell me where you get the name from. Oh, I say, I know you don't know. See, Donnie Brasco went to East Side High, I believe, and became a federal agent. And that that was all based on Joe Pistone.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Pistone. Okay.

Name Origin And First Crews

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah. Absolutely. And then he infiltrated the mob. But within that mob uh um history, it was Sunny Black, there was a Sunny Red. Yeah. So me and my brother, as we had a group called Flesh and Blood, uh on Funky Righteous, I believe. And then we kind of broke up. So me and my brother said, let's, you know, let's we ain't ready to give it up. So they said, he was light-skinned, he had dreads. I was dark-skinned and bald head. So I said, yo, you know, we watched that movie, and that movie was so dope. He said, Yo, yo, I'll be Sonny Black, and yo, you could be Sonny Red. It was like, yo, dope. And so, and then we then I saw flesh and blood. So that's how I got that in.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

Yeah, that's awesome. Um, see, those are things that I was relating to. So when I was talking to you, I was like, oh yeah, that's just, you know, it was really comfortable. So talk about some of the um events that you've performed, some of the people you've performed with. I've seen on your IG, you were with KRS1 Chris, right? So talk about some of the people you perform with that you enjoyed it or you you've learned, or kind of your mentors.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Um I've I I've performed with a lot of people. Uh the ones that you think are special. Um, Big Daddy Kane, uh Smith and Wesson, uh, well. Um Karas one, of course.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Um he's he's the ultimate storyteller. Definitely. My brother King's son. Um you know, the list goes on, man. Um but and you know, and for me, rap, I do it for the love of it. You know what I mean? I'm like the Charles Barclay of rap, I believe. You know what I mean? Like, yo, I've never got a ring, you know what I mean? Like one of the greats that never got a ring.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

Okay. All right. Well, you have a following. Indeed. And you skilled, you have talent. So um talk about why I I want to know a little bit more about KRS one. Talk about why he's one of your favorites in how you see him as a mentor.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Uh, of course, you know, Freestyle King, first of all, you know what I mean. You see him, if you've ever been around him, you see if he walked in the room right now, we'll talk full of man, but the first thing he's gonna start doing is rhyming.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Off the top. Yeah. You know what I mean? Which is really not an easy thing to do, but you know, he's so nice with it. Um and it's always good that, you know, wanna it's like Michael Jordan of the game. You know what I mean? Who doesn't want to be like Mike?

SPEAKER_03 8:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, but Kay's a good brother, you know, a good dude. Um, knowing for some of your No, take you all the way back to New York when we used to go to the Latin Quarters. And we used to come and meet King's Son, my brother Prince, and we used to come wait to the door, get down bottom, go in the back of the door with MC Surge, just Ice, uh LL, we all in the back. You know what I mean? It was, you know, it was dope growing up. So, and then the same thing when you come to Virginia and be like, yo, like, yeah, we're still there.

SPEAKER_03 8:55

Yeah. So you grew up in the era, I feel like that's like the golden era for hip hop. Oh, yeah. Um, it was a message.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Um positive, everything was conscious, conscious, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:11

You know what I mean? I mean, it's just before it started getting to the point where um you started big money trying to, you know, influence it. Um and I I don't know. I that's how I grew up. I grew up with a boom box walking down the street listening to LL, and I'm from Philly, so I'm listening to Three Times Dope and Spoony G. Absolutely, absolutely. So uh um it it it it was good times. Um what do you think now? How's it changed? How's the rap game changed with the artists?

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Well, for me, everything it has to change. Why is that? Because evolution, it has to change. You know, we have to, and I will never say like uh the rap the cats are doing now, you know, it ain't good. It's a phase, you know what I mean? The young the young cats now they talk about how they killed somebody uh two weeks ago putting on music, glorifying that. I don't know if that's smart. But it we know it's not smart, but that's what that's what's happening. But far as making music, yeah, um, like my brother said, uh AI now. I'm I'm even thinking about like, well, I shit, I don't I I'm dope and I never got signed. Shit, I might as well put this in some AI and um see what it could do.

SPEAKER_03 10:37

Right. Uh it's funny you said that. Um I met you at the Timberland weekend um event, fashion show. Did you get a chance to talk to him when he was here? No, I didn't get a chance to talk to him. Okay. Because his his whole thing was he's like, when he said, I saw um Iron Man, and he said, I saw Iron Man, and they came up with I can't remember that that robot that was he was controlling the house, and he says that's when it hit him. He's like, now I could just reach out and use AI to create things. He says, it's just much easier and better, and I had to learn. Yeah, so it is definitely affecting the industry.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah, um, listen, if you don't stay in tune with what's going on, yeah, you're gonna be left behind. Yeah. I know a lot of cats are still left behind. And I'd be like, yo, man, that's not the 80s no more, bro. Yo, you can't sell that out the back of your trunk no more. But it's crazy because then um um old boy from um North Carolina, J. Cole, he was selling CDs out the back of his trunk. That's how he got started? No. Just recently. Recently? I'm like, well, who has a who has a CD player? I don't. If I do, it's sitting in the uh on the dust rack. Yeah. You know what I mean? But um J.

SPEAKER_03 12:01

Cole is different though, right? Isn't I I think I read a story where he's like still riding around, he rides around on the bike, he's just so down to earth.

Performing With Legends And Mentors

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, I mean That's when you know, that's when you know it's from the heart. Yeah, it's it's for the love, right? And it's for the love. Yeah. Like me. I've been rapping, man. Listen, I've been rapping for for years, right? Yeah. People say, oh man, you're good, you're nice. Oh, I I perfected my my craft. Yeah. I've been doing it so long. If I haven't perfected it by now, then what's the use? You know what I mean? Yeah. And I'm gonna tell you, people say, hey, you why are you still rapping? I said, I'm still rapping because I'm good at it. You know what I mean? When I say that I'm not, well, I feel like I'm not good at it, then I'll stop. But you know, I'm only getting better as I get older. It's crazy. Yeah. You know? Um, yeah. And I've learned not to, you know, and I'm gonna tell you a funny story. I said, yo, um, yo, you want to perform here, but you can't cuss, there's no rap. I said, listen, I don't cuss in my raps. Yeah, see, other thing you told me. I said, I don't kill nobody in my raps. I said, what the hell you rap about? You know what I mean? I said, listen, this is I'll just and it's still my music is still hardcore. Yeah. Hardcore music that's still dope, as we say. I don't know if they still say that, but I still say it. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 13:17

Um Yeah, I was gonna say I was afraid to say that, but go ahead. And it's clean. But we understand each other.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

And it's clean.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

You know what I mean? I can perform anywhere. There's no way I can't perform.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Yeah. Um one of the things I think that you when I think of somebody from your era growing up, it was natural. Um it it was nothing. I I don't know what it's like in in Patterson, but you know, I have friends that would just get together and it'd be in a group and they would just take turns just spitting everywhere. Right? And I don't think a lot of people wrote stuff and it was just natural, right? And I mean, you know, you got to a point where you can just walk up to somebody's mom at some point in Philly and they would they would be out there spitting.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Right. So Well, that's hip-hop, you know, it's like spread like wildflower, you know what I mean? Yeah. But I'm gonna tell you when we was growing up, because really, like, and you know, I don't know if people say where hip hop started from, but everybody I know was from New York that was doing the music, you know what I mean? Way back when in the beginning. Right. You know what I mean? Even up to Melly Mellon. Um, you know, yeah. Um, so yeah, yeah, that influenced me a lot. Right. You know, Mellie Melon and Cold Crush and Furious Four and Magic Down one, you know, listen, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

You know when I I think I first started, I first got started, I was listening to a lot of people from the Bronx um in the in the 80s. Um I can't think of who it was in the Bronx. But anyway, it it'll come to me. But um I don't know if it's changed so much. It's so international now, and then you have so many different types and styles. Um I feel like the East Coast was where everything got started, and probably New York. Um definitely yeah, and um, because I I think they they go back and look at people that maybe even was rapping in the 70s. And these were people that were f were on the radio from New York, yeah. So um what do you see now with um who do we all know that Kendrick is the king. So well, in terms of dollars, he is the king, right? Personally, I I in terms of lyrics, um, you know, I'd have to go rock him. Nas, these are my favorite, right? Black thought. Um, these are people like that. So if you had to classify the two, um who would you say KRS lyricist now that you're that you would say are really good? There's a lot of people out there that's good now. But who do you listen to? If I if I'm in your car outside of you, and maybe your friends, who you who you listening to?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Because really sometimes most of the time I listen to myself a lot. You know what I mean? That's probably why you're so good. But yeah, I I you know I listen to like if I'm riding, I listen to Rick Ross.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

You know what I mean? I might say, I'll listen to Rick Ross, I'll listen to uh Styles P from The Locks. I listen to Locks Um Red Man and Meth. Uh I used to love Red Man and Math. Um I listen to a lot of cats. I like I like I like Jeezy, you know what I mean? Um I listen to Jeezy sometimes. If I feel like I want to be in that type of mode, I listen to some Jeezy.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Um Red Man from Jersey. K Solo. Do you remember K Solo? I remember K Solo. Spellbound. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um what about um well EPMD?

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Of course, man. Listen, your history, my history is about as deep as yours. EPMD, we know those those guys. It was a funny story, right? I was living in Patterson. Um, and um I probably I probably shouldn't tell the story, but it was it's it was news, it was old news.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Um so I lived in this building um complex, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

And Eric Sherman was coming to see some girl in that same building. So one night, boom, the next one night went by a lot of ragged ambulance, whatever, fire five. Next day I come outside, I say, yo, man, um Eric Sherman jumped out the window. Um, third floor window, man, broke his leg. I was like, what? Well, what happened when he was he was seeing this girl and she had another guy that I guess she was dealing with came over. Oh and that's just my my story about Eric Sherman. I guess the guy didn't know who he was. Yeah, he knew who he was.

How Rap Changed And AI Talk

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not surprised. Um, so what events do you have coming up?

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Coming up, I think we had I have the tribute to Panel Whitaker.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Oh, you doing that?

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Well, you know, I have a song called Fight Night. I I did a song called Fight Night, and it's about boxing. Yeah. Um, and talked about all the greats. It's dope. I got a video of it too. Um where can we find that? Uh if you go on YouTube, Sonny Black, Fight Night. Okay. So S-U-N-N-Y Black Fight Night. Okay. And it should pop up. Okay. It's a half a clip, but it's a video about it.

SPEAKER_03 19:28

So that's the event that's coming up in March.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

And me, um, so now they had this is this might be like the second thing they did for Pennell Whitaker, because um I did a show for him. I think he was past already, too, down in his hood. And it's crazy. Um, I went and got to buy. See, me what about me me about performing, I'm sorry. I like to, I don't, I always try to set myself different from everybody else. I stand back and I'll be like, man, I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that. I gotta do something different. So, you know me, I'll do, I had two ring girls for round one, round two.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Came out with the box and roll bum, my hands wrap, you know what I mean? Okay. And I did my boxing song, my trip to the Panel Woodaker. It's real dope. You know, I like to put on some kind of somewhat of a show. I just get out there and do it the same thing that everybody else doing. Like if I'm doing song for the ladies, you know I'm bringing roses out, I'm giving out roses, you know what I mean. If you saw me at the um um Juneteenth last summer, um on the Oceanfront with Team Lamb. You know, I do something for the ladies, I'll see. Because you can't forget about the ladies. Everybody always rah, rah, rah, rah, rah and forget about the sisters. So I don't I love to soften up my see, you've never seen me do a whole show, just one song.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

But um, yeah, I like to soften it up, do something for the ladies, pass out roses. Because sex sells, and women buy all the music.

SPEAKER_03 21:01

Oh, never thought about it like that. Yeah. But one of the things I did know that your style, that's part of your persona. That uh where's all of that creativity with the the giving and the style, your dress, where's all of that? You would you say that comes from? Jersey. Patterson, New Jersey. You've always been like that?

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Yo, we always been like that. Okay. Okay. Yo, we used to come out and be like, yo, who's fresh of the day? Who gonna have the new sneakers? Oh, okay. You know what I mean? It was a competition. It was just stay fly. Yeah. You know what I mean? If you stay ready. Iron Sharp is iron. Yeah, still shopping still. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. I'm telling you, we're facts. Awesome. But I love dressing and I love doing all the fashion shows. Okay. I love fashion. I think fashion is real dope. I love to dress. I love to make smash. Sometimes I buy shit and um I alter it myself. You know what I mean? Um might need some fur on the collar. I might put some fur on the collar. You know what I mean? I look for something different. Um I tell you a long time. I used to work for uh Ralph Lorraine in New York.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

A long time ago. Um and um I always wanted to be a model too. You know what I mean? Um I can see that.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

And I did a little, well, not too much, and then I've like found my streak, like, yo, set up and I may walk if someone asks me to, but I I like to be the entertainment for the for the fashion shows, you know what I mean? Yeah. And the intermission. Let me, you know, do my thing. But fashion is dope.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

Um Have you ever thought about designing?

SPEAKER_00 22:51

No, not really. I don't design my own shit. You know, okay. I'm saying you will go to a store and be like, yo, this shirt is dope, but they should have done this. I'll take a knife, scissors, cut it up.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

You you might, that might be your calling.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

It might be.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

You know, you do that in your retirement. Yeah. That is so what else do you have coming up? Um that's in March. Can you let us know when that is? You know the exact I don't know the exact date. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

I'll check it up and I I'll get it put online. But I know you I think Evanders come in or Ali, Mama Ali's mom's coming. Really? Yeah. Um should be a good turn out.

SPEAKER_03 23:29

Okay. I wasn't going good. I think I had something. I might have to I might have to come now.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Um far as that me, um, I don't have anything scheduled for the meantime. But something always comes up.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

How do we get in contact with you if we want to schedule you for an event? Um You have a manager, you do it yourself.

Clean Hardcore And Stage Show Tricks

SPEAKER_00 23:50

I do, and it's crazy, right? I do everything myself, man. I mean, from from from the footwork, from the promoting myself, from finding my own shows. Um But then again, a lot of things word of mouth when somebody knows you, you know. Um, yeah, I do everything myself, man. Because me, like, people say, are you serious about music? Are you looking for a deal? I'm not really looking for a deal. Um I'm not looking for a deal, but if it comes, I'll take it. So I always show people I do music because I love doing it. You know what I mean? I love to see people's face when I'm on stage, like, yo, he's really killing this shit. You know what I mean? Um, and it's something different because, like I said, I'm not, I don't do the new rap like the young cats do. I give you that old feeling back. You know what I mean? That that that feeling when you remember 89, 90. Some good hip hop, you know what I mean? Good music.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

Yeah, that's the golden age to me.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

And it's probably because of my age. And there's still a market for that.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

You know what I mean? There's still a market. You see um all these guys now doing shows, um Big Daddy Kane, Garrison, they all, you know, they circle around the tour, do and still get money. You know, um, but like I said, rap don't pay me. Um I pay rap.

SPEAKER_03 25:09

Yeah. Do you have um what you have any tracks that we can stream or we can find you? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

I'm on pretty much all the streaming platforms. Sunny Black, that's what the U, S-U-N-N-Y. Um, I'm on Spotify, um all all of uh YouTube, um everywhere. And if you can't find me, like I say, go to my Instagram, Sun.black77. Um, hey man, and check out check out my life story. Yeah. You've been here for how long, Sunny? For maybe about 25 years.

SPEAKER_03 25:53

Okay. All right. Well, um, we're happy to have you. Um appreciate that. One of the things that I realized, uh we we're starting to develop a community in this area. Um and I think it's a good thing. And, you know, like you said, I see you at this event, and you know, you're going to the Pernel Whitaker, or we have something at Poolside, or Cash should be doing something. So we're developing fashion show, all this. We're developing a community, and I think um one, this area has a lot to offer. People would not think about it. Um talent and um just growth. But what I've noticed about you is you're at those events, you're in supporting everybody and all these things, and then you're performing. So um I thank you for that. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Yeah, and um and it's people like you that make me keep doing what I do. Yeah. You know what I mean? People always say, yo, man, you sound like DMX. You do you do sound like DMS? Oh, you sound like Buster Rhymes or whoever they might say. But that's just how I am, how you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 27:17

You can yeah, you have a range. You know what I mean? You you can I think it's the old school rappers to me. So when I think of people that can have a range, I can I've heard Nas like um Guru is one of my favorite rappers, right? Oh definitely, yeah, and uh but I listen to Nas and Nas can rap in so many different styles, and then I listen to um Black Thought, and he can do a lot of the same thing. Um I think when people say you listen, well, first of all, you had all the influence around you, right? But you've been doing it for so long, you can match your style to whatever is in your your mind. You do have that creative thought, you're an artist. Absolutely. Okay, the bottom line is you're an artist, absolutely, and it comes across in your performance, it comes across in your style, and just the way you think. Like, who's gonna bring women things at a show? Right. So that's creativity, right? Yeah, so you expand whatever medium that you're in. That's that's the way I see it. So that's probably why they're telling you you sound like this person here, or you sound like that person there.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

Well then, you know, you know, um growing up. Me, how I write, truly. Yeah. And if you listen to my music, there's no song, there's no stylist the same. Because I write to the music.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

So depending on what the music is saying to me, that's how I write to it. So it might be a new style, it might be I I mimic the music. Because really, sometimes when I sit down and listen to music, you can hear it. The shit is talking. It's just telling you what to say.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's that's a different level. Yeah, see, a lot of people don't like it.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

That's a different level of hearing music. Yeah. You know, um, when I hear it, you know, I have I uh I said it's talking. Yeah. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 29:30

So a lot would you say most of your stuff is freestyle?

SPEAKER_00 29:33

Or no, I write. You don't write? Yeah, alright. But I don't write. But I write. In your mind. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

So So it's there.

Booking Yourself And Streaming Everywhere

SPEAKER_00 29:46

And it just comes out whenever you're Well, you know, I I you know, I go I go home, man, and uh it's gotta be a a a beat or a track that really lifts me or moves me, you know what I mean? Because I I I hit tracks, 20, 30 tracks, and I play a guy playing tracks, and I'm like, skip, skip, skip, skip, skip. Because I know what fits me and I know what range I'm in. So I stay in my lane. You know what I mean? I don't do the the latest style that that's winning right now. I stay in my lane. And um, like I said, if if if if that's what the music's telling me to say. Like the song Um Make It Work.

SPEAKER_02 30:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

You know what I mean? I got the song Make It Work. By the way, you can go check it out. My videos on YouTube, Sunny Black, L Slicker Shop, Make It Work. Dope video. I went to Vegas to shoot this video. Okay. Well, it was my birthday weekend, so I was going anyway. And my man was out there that sung on the song. So I was like, oh, well, I'll just come out there and shoot the video. Um dope videos called Make It Work, check it out. Um, also, I got another joint called Still Dreaming. Um, it was dope. I was at the Christopher Williams show. Okay. And you know, he had the song uh I'm Dreaming. I'm Dreaming, thinking of you. And I said, Yo, you know what? That is dope. I said, because I got a song also, excuse me, called I'm Still Dreaming. You know what I mean? Um my brother-in-law, um, shot the video from Atlanta, dope brother. Um, podcast name. I I always forget your podcast name. What's your podcast name? Oh, we can talk about that. What's your podcast? That's not your podcast, man. You know what I mean? What's your media? Oh, Pure Excellence. Pure Excellence. Okay. Yes. Dope, dope video video videographer, um, brother, 30 years in the game with me. Um, but the songs, um, the song Still Dreaming, man.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Let me tell you how I shot that video.

SPEAKER_02 31:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Yo, my brother got married in Atlanta, so I was like, all right, Pat, we're gonna go to Atlanta. I was the best man, so we go to Atlanta, blah, blah, blah. I had Cassine with me also. Yeah. He lived in, he still lived in Atlanta.

unknown 32:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

So he came through. So I'm walking through this mansion and I'm saying, still dreaming, and I'm like, yo, I'm seeing a vision. I'm like, yo. I call him, I say, yo, man, grab your camera and come back. Wedding, wedding going on. Now I asked the wedding after this, after the wedding, the reception party. Man, uh man, we shot all around the wedding, nobody even known. The groom didn't know. Came outside, we did the toast, all of that, didn't know anything. Wrapped it up the next day, a couple of days later, he finished the video. I sent it to him. He's like, Man, when did you have time to do this? I said, Man, I was I was thinking, bro, you know what I mean? So, dope videos, still dreaming. It's on my YouTube, check it out, it's on my page, check it out.

SPEAKER_03 32:56

Spontaneous.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

Yes. Yeah. Dope, spontaneous. It was like, I was calling people, come on, come on, stop for a minute. What? Yeah, you gotta basically you gotta, when the opportunity presents itself, you gotta grab it. Yeah, reach out, you gotta grab it.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

So, where have you performed? What do you like to perform? I know you've told me you performed in several locations, but you know, uh these are personal conversations that we've had before.

Writing To The Beat And Video Stories

SPEAKER_00 33:22

I loved, I love the performance, the stage better than I love the studio. Okay. Or writing the music. You know what I mean? I loved I love being in the studio, but I love the stage more. You know what I mean? Because you get to end you get to give women flowers and you know, talk to them. And you get to see the you get to talk to people. You know, you get to really see somebody expression on their face if they think you're garbage or you fire. Um I love the stage. Um, always have been. Um You've been in Las Vegas. Yeah. But you know, I didn't perform, I never performed in Las Vegas. Really? Okay. I'm this summer, I'm gonna conquer that this summer.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Um like I said, one of my brothers got a uh podcast out there, fire trash, um, every Saturday, um, six o'clock Eastern time on Instagram, and he's out there. So he's making moves out there. I see when you gotta do a show. You gotta do a show out there live. I want to come to Vegas, I want to perform in Vegas. It'd be dope, I think. Yeah, that'd be nice. But you know, one thing about me, what's that? I have a lot of stories, man. First of all, I did a couple years ago, I was on American. I'm gonna have to look at my Instagram. Rock. They had they had they they had a rock um Rolling Stones competition. Anybody anybody remember that? Rolling Stones had a competition uh maybe a year ago. Is this the magazine?

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Yes. Okay, yes, right.

SPEAKER_00 35:00

Yeah. I signed up for it, you know what I mean? Uh-huh. I mean, it was thousands of people, I mean. Thousand people. I mean, like different categories. So I went in with rap, of course. I think I might have lasted, I don't know, three weeks before I gave up on it. But round for the whole three weeks, second place. You can look it up. Look at I have some pictures on Instagram. Second place, but I think I came in at 90 something. Okay. First round. Yeah. A couple weeks later, all we always made it to second place. You know, it's this one brother and sister, they who won the competition that I couldn't beat. I mean, and it's all about fans supporting you, buying, it was like a dollar, you call up and you you buy a dollar rap or whatever, uh ticket. And um, yeah, I but I came in second place. So, and I was like, no, I'm not even mad at that because you know, I'm a rap artist, man. For me to hold second place down for that long, yeah, I thought it was incredible. Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 36:07

Yeah, it's not even something you thought you Rolling Stone? Yeah. You know, you didn't think about that. I think that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

You know? Yeah. I did hold it down.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Well, good. Um, all right, so tell everybody where we can find you. I think you went through most of them, so and then where where can they they stream your music at? Okay, you can find me in VA. Okay, number one. Okay. Madison. All right, what what uh what what platforms though? Uh social media.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

IG, I'm on IG, YouTube, um, all social media I'm I'm pretty much on. You can find me.

SPEAKER_03 36:47

Um now when I was Googling, I there's like you said, there's several sunny blacks, right? Right. So you you spell phonetically, it sounds sunny black, but it's spelled S-U-N-N.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

Right. Y. Right. Son, S-U-N. You know, my brother's name is King Sun. So I get mad about that. But Son, you know, Son of Man.

SPEAKER_03 37:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

You know what I mean? Because we all made from the same of the sun, you know what I mean? Right. You know, we're the same under the sun. We create heat, you know what I mean, and all of that. So sunny, then I was like, Sunny, sun, sun, New York, so sunny New York. Um, so I was just like sunny, okay, cool. Um, yeah, um, you can find me, man. Uh I'm pretty much, man, on all streaming platforms. Um, my videos are on YouTube.

SPEAKER_03 37:45

You have some on IG, right?

Awards, Day Job, And Community Love

SPEAKER_00 37:46

But they're real, they're real shortcuts. Yeah, they just shortcuts. Of YouTube, um, still dreaming. Um, I got some joints on there. Uh Artists of the Year. Um, I was nominated Artist of the Year one year here in Virginia. When was that? Um maybe, what's this, 2026, maybe 2020? Okay. Um, Artists of the Year, Independent Artists of the Year, which I thought was dope. Um, you know, I've done Shaggy Fest, um, Kill That. Um, yeah, I'm I'm I'm I'm pretty somewhat popular, I guess. Hood popular.

SPEAKER_03 38:24

Yeah, you are.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

But I'm humble. You know what I mean? You see me. Most people don't even know I I I rap. Like I, you know, there, I because I don't really brag about it, I don't really talk about it. Um, I just like to perform. You know, you might see me at a fashion show, and I love it, you know. I do all the fashion shows. Men's Fashion Week, if you know, I'm always there. Okay. You know what I mean? I'm always be there. I do all the fashion shows. I love it. Um, I do all the summer events. Um, but like I said, I do have a job. I I build bridges for um for 12 hours a day.

SPEAKER_03 38:58

Which is hard.

SPEAKER_00 38:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:00

My nephew does the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

So on my spare time. On my spare time is when I create my music. Yeah.

unknown 39:08

You know.

SPEAKER_03 39:08

All right.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

And I also do, I love working out between that and the gym.

SPEAKER_03 39:12

Yeah. I appreciate you coming in and giving me the opportunity to interview you. Um, I'm gonna make sure I get you as much exposure as I possibly can. That's dope. I got I already got some clips of you for some B-roll from the fashion show. So all of that's gonna be going in there.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

Okay, yeah, because we supposed to link up, but then I think the numbers got twisted. Yeah, you're busy. Yeah, I understand. You're busy. Um, but yeah, man, anytime man, you see me, bro, you know I'm always here. If you got an event, you want me to come.

SPEAKER_03 39:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

Murder. We're gonna put one together. You know what I mean? Yeah, I don't have a problem with uh doing that. So it's been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you. Peace and love. Yeah. And see you at the next show.

SPEAKER_03 39:59

That's all right. That's it. Catch us next time on listen up.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Let's go.

unknown 40:04

Let's go.

Final Plugs And Closing Message

SPEAKER_00 40:58

I've been doing this for years and I feel like we could go.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

If you enjoyed today's episode, I'm gonna ask you to click on the links below. Follow, subscribe, become part of the conversation. And remember, listen up.