What does it mean to embrace adulthood? SonaOne addresses the obvious, like paying bills, making tough decisions and getting older in upbeat title track Growing Up Sucks.
If it sounds like a juvenile offering from a 27-year-old rapper, that’s because it was written when SonaOne was 22.
Thankfully, SonaOne outgrew that phase – his new album allows listeners to experience a different, more mature side to the rapper. The song I Don’t Want To Die Alone is a pleasant surprise. It’s a sombre track where SonaOne opens up about mortality as he addresses an earth-shattering incident in his life.
SonaOne bares it all with rhymes on how he could have been another dead rapper. Here, growing up means learning that you’re not going to live forever.
SonaOne announces the arrival of his long-awaited debut album Growing Up Sucks. Photo: The Star/M. Azhar Arif
Following the footsteps of rappers like Tupac Shakur and Kanye West, SonaOne also has a heartfelt track about his mother simply titled Mama’s Boy. The retro-sounding track has a little bit of 90s music throwback is perhaps a nod to the times where SonaOne remembers being the most youthful. He also raps verses in French on this song, proving that growing up also means paying a homage to mama in whatever art form you can.
However, we’re not too sure about SonaOne in the “hopeless romantic” department. In heartbreak number Cold, he raps: “I don’t know why you so caught up in the moolah bae/All I wanted was to see you do the hoola bae…” which got us thinking “okay, he needs a time out”.
Skip Cold and put Go Do That on repeat instead. It’s a fast and furious track in which SonaOne calls out on his haters while Akeem Jahat and Joe Flizzow lend some unforgiving jabs. This track is a knockout.
Growing Up Sucks is a respectable debut from SonaOne, who is not afraid to admit that he still has a lot of growing up to do. That’s good, because it means we can look forward to more solid offerings in the future.
SonaOne
Growing Up Sucks
(Sony Music)
