Video: SonReal – “My Friend” (Prod. by Babyface & Charlie Handsome)
The Vancouver-Based Rapper Shares a Heart-Wrenching New Video in Tribute to His Late Father as He Kicks Off the One Long Dream Tour
11.14.2017
Critical Praise for SonReal:
“SonReal’s One Long Dream Is Pop-Rap at Its Finest” – Highsnobiety
“It’s about time you got familiar with the Vancouver rapper who is on his way to becoming one of the biggest rap exports from Canada.” – Noisey
“SonReal’s unique, developed flow allows him to lay out his style of everyman rap successfully.” – The Source
The Video:
Winning a legion of fans with his honest, hooky, and emotional songwriting, Vancouver’s SonReal is a major talent. Paying tribute to his father, who passed away while SonReal was away on tour in 2016, SonReal shares the video “My Friend,” a sparely elegant ballad. Produced by Charlie Handsome(Kanye West, Young Thug) and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, “My Friend” is a loving portrait of SonReal’s relationship with his father–who was the most important person in SonReal’s life until he died. In the heart-wrenching video, premiered by VIBE, SonReal slings an acoustic guitar in the rural British Columbia area where he grew up with his father, taking refuge in an unfinished house with a portrait of his father on the wall. Last week, the audio for “My Friend” premiered on Beats 1 Radio with Zane Lowe, who praised the song calling it “A piece of music that had to be made…it’s one of those songs that become things that you add to your playlist or collection and stay with you for the rest of your life.” A heartfelt and sincere ballad, “My Friend” is a deeply personal and affecting song by SonReal and a reminder for everyone to hold close to the ones you love.
Explains SonReal: “My father’s name was Glenn Stephen Hoffman. He passed away of a heart attack last year while I was on tour. My parents divorced when I was 15 and my dad always had a very hard time with that. He was an incredible person… one of the funniest people I can think of, but he suffered from mental health issues and alcohol abuse. In the years leading up to his death he became less of a father figure to me and more of a very dear friend. We would talk on the phone for hours, bullshitting about pretty much anything under the sun while he sat there smoking cigarettes with the TV playing in the background. He was one of my biggest fans. He knew all the lyrics to all my songs and always expressed how much he believed in me. When he passed away, I was terrified to write a song about it because I️ felt as though no song would do justice to his spirit. Despite that feeling, In April 2016, two months after he passed, I sat down in my home studio one night and wrote something special: ‘My Friend’. This is the music video directed by Dane Collison, who is one of my best friends and who got a chance to spend time with my father. Enjoy.”
Born in a small town in rural British Columbia, SonReal is one of the most acclaimed and popular rising stars in Canada, earning six Juno Awards nominations and ten nominations and a win at the MuchMusic Video Awards. Known for his creative and often goofily humorous music videos, such as the post-apocalyptic slapstick of his recent “Repo Man,” SonReal recently released One Long Dream, his debut album. An infectious and inspiring record with Indian-American singer-songwriter Sid Sriram as the only guest artist, One Long Dream showcases SonReal’s facility with melody, his relatable charisma, and his sense of humor. Premiered by Highsnobiety, the album features singles and highlights such as the hit single “Can I Get A Witness?,” which has over 4.5 million streams on YouTube, “Potential,” a moving power ballad with a China-set video, and the uplifting “Problems,” with over 1 million streams on Spotify and a place on Spotify’s Pop All Day playlist. SonReal recently announced the 23-date One Long Dream Tour, which commenced on November 7th and makes stops in New York City, Toronto, and his home base of Vancouver. Tickets for the One Long Dream Tour are on sale now.
Watch “My Friend”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6GEyAQqRhk
Check out the VIBE premiere: https://www.vibe.com/2017/11/sonreal-my-friend-babyface-charlie-handsome/
Listen to “My Friend”:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.
Soundcloud: https://
Linkfire: https://umc.lnk.to/
Buy One Long Dream: https://umc.lnk.to/OneLongDream
Buy tickets to the One Long Dream Tour: http://iamsonreal.com/
Tour Dates:
November 14 – Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
November 15 – Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
November 16 – Blue Moose, Iowa City, IA
November 17 – 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis, MN
November 18 – Schubas, Chicago IL
November 19 – The Basement, Columbus, OH
November 21 – The Shelter, Detroit, MI
November 23 – Maxwell’s, Waterloo, ON
November 24 – The Opera House, Toronto, ON
November 25 – Theatre Fairmount, Montreal, QC
November 28 – Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
November 29 – Middle East, Cambridge, MA
November 30 – Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
December 1 – Songbyrd D.C., Washington D.C.
December 2 – The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
December 4 – House of Blues, Houston, TX
December 5 – The Parish Room, Austin, TX
December 7 – Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM
December 8 – The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
Please contact Michelle or Dharmic for more info.
The Background:
About SonReal:
Born in the small town of Vernon, British Columbia, SonReal is poised to be the next great Canadian export. A YouTube sensation, SonReal’s first video boasted the best talent show sequence since Napoleon Dynamite and racked up over a million plays in the first month. His next mixtape, the Juno-nominated For The Town, continued the visual tradition, including some of the most creative music videos on the web in “Preach,” “For The Town,” and “Woah Nilly.” After completing an American tour and signing to a major label, SonReal began to work on his debut album, One Long Dream. The first single of the project “Can I Get A Witness” was an instant success, achieving platinum status and entering the Top 15 in Canadian pop radio. SonReal immediately jumped onto Jon Bellion’s sold out Human Condition tour, and then headlined his own No Warm Up Tour. Already a 6-time Juno Award nominee and 10-time MMVA nominee, as well as a MMVA winner for Best Music Video of The Year, for “Everywhere We Go,” SonReal is primed for takeover in both Canada and the US.
About Black Box Music:
Black Box Music is a record label, artist management and music publishing company based in Toronto, Canada. Their eclectic roster/discography includes the likes of SonReal, Classified, Shad, Clairmont The Second, Blaq Tuxedo, The OBGMs, The Glorious Sons, songwriter Lisa Scinta and more. www.weareblackbox.com
Links:
twitter | instagram | soundcloud | facebook | website
“My Friend”: https://open.spotify.com/track/5HAhyLlmDElrKB3CeURRrI // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6GEyAQqRhk
“Repo Man”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14eU6OU15b0
“The Open Letter”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0ZpOXLK0s
One Long Dream: https://umc.lnk.to/OneLongDream
One Long Dream Tour: http://iamsonreal.com/shows/
“Who Care”: https://open.spotify.com/track/350gAlFU8BAsWIGBN3GQPv | https://soundcloud.com/sonreal/who-care-official
“Problems”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwJDJcr7FjM | https://soundcloud.com/sonreal/problems | https://itun.es/us/mTgvkb?i=1247046490 | https://open.spotify.com/track/5h2TALUWTh66rr4bKueusj
“Supersize”: https://soundcloud.com/sonreal/supersize-1 | https://itun.es/us/uifvkb?i=1247040026 | https://open.spotify.com/track/1WcHUJ9Q2uURBpvsKVJJgj
“Potential”: https://youtu.be/u7iQ-DuiOUs // https://umc.lnk.to/Potential
“Can I Get a Witness”: https://youtu.be/pyXhsTTD0Tk
“Everywhere We Go”: https://youtu.be/UNVtM9P-yLM
Bio, photos, and streams available here: http://www.audibletreats.com/sonreal/