We had the pleasure of interviewing an artist whose style is as unique as his story! Check out the exclusive feature bellow!
His real name is Sunnah. It means “The way of life” in Arabic but over time he wanted people to call him Sage which means a wise man, an herb and someone who’s chosen from god to help the world so he made his stage name “SunnahTheSage.” He’s a 18 year old artist that wants to spread support across the world.
For a little information about him, he’s from Newark, New Jersey but when he was 6 years old he moved to Greensboro, North Carolina which is where he stay and represent now. from starting off as a producer to a rapper he continuously try to better himself. His constant drive to better himself is also the reason why he do not cuss in his music, he doesnt smoke, drink or have any tattoos.
What is your background? tell us where you grew up and some information about your upbringing/experiences as a youth:
I was born in the north side of brick city, that’s a nickname people have for Newark, New Jersey. During that time choosing to live in that area forced you to risk your life everyday or die trying. When I was 5 years old my mother and father finally moved in together and we moved into one of my father’s other proprieties in Greensboro, North Carolina.
As time went on people would celebrate my father’s accomplishments with him writing the Lauren hills ms.education album and also with other big artists like pink or faith evens. However I just wasn’t into making music, I originally wanted to be game designer because I wanted to revolutionize the gaming industry with different unusual type of graphics and real life based events.
I always had an insecurity about myself about anything I wanted to because I was bullied everywhere I went.
I’ve gotten jumped, framed, spit on, hit with sticks, laughed at, despised by a whole school and even gotten expelled the first month I entered middle school because I continuously got into fights which made me the type of person to hold in anger. A few months after turning 11 I was giving a chance to my first song so I made one.. and it sucked.
At the time it was the highlight of my life but when I tried to listen to that and then listen to a song made from a celebrity it made me think that I need to make better music. 3 years go by and I try again at the age of 14 and It got better! But then I figured out the problem was my high-pitch squeaky video, i sounded terrible and it always used to crack so by that time I went back to gaming and actually producing beats this time. Over a year I have created, deleted and restarted over 30 beats until the time I turned 16 and finally the pages started to turn.
I’ve written a whole song called Michael my wrist, the beat was produced by me and I had 2 features too (my little brother for the hook and my friend from elementary school.)when it released Jan 1st 2017 people loved it and it grew within 2 weeks after it released. That became the first accomplishment I have ever made in my life and was a start a music career.
At what moment did you know that music was part of your life and what feelings did you have towards making an active impact with your music?
Music definitely started becoming a part of my life around the time I was 16 but I was very nervous making music at first but everything that made me nervous then begins to make me bold today.
What artists inspired/influences you and if you could collaborate with any artist (alive or passed) who would it be and why?
Initially I inspired myself to start my career because there were a lot of obstacles I had to overcome but a few people that I’ll love to give credit for keeping me going through my journey so far was Ski Mask the Slump God, XXXTENTACION, Shiloh Dynasty, Skrillex and Dimplo, The creators of Trap Nation, and Denzel Curry. If it’ll be anyone I would love to collaborate with it’ll be ski mask the slump god.
What do you think about the current state of hip hop/mainstream music?
I feel that current hip hop and mainstream music is in a constant trend of talking about drugs, money and girls and I want to change that.
Currently, what projects do you have in the works that you are most excited about?
Recently I have released a song called “WHY SO SAD??” But right now I am working on a new song named “SELF SEXUAL” preparing for my 3rd album “Black And Blue For Who?”.
What are your short term career goals within the next 6-10 months?
Any short turn goal of mine would be to grow and share my music to the masses of people.
What are your long term career goals within the next 2-5 years?
A long term would be to own 5% of the entire music industry with investments.
If you had one song out of the catalogue you have created to show a person what song would it be and why?
One song catalog I would personally show people would be the “WHY SO SAD??” Because it’s a hype song showing me doubting but theirs really not a reason too.
To the person who had never heard of you what is it about your music and story that you would tell them to entice them to be a supporter?
I will people who have never heard of my music is that I factor myself with positive and everything that comes with including the mask I wear and the sword I carry, everything is a meaning and I aim to give people positive vibes. Even when the song is coming off sad or angrily.
If your music could be described in five words what would those five words be?
UNDERRATED, HYPE, UNIQUE, MITIGATE and GLADDEN
What do you bring to the game that is unique and different?
I bring a different kind of unique to the game, people say I have a generic style with a millennial mindset. I just call it being a sage..
To the aspiring artist who is considering a career as a musician what lessons or advice would you give them to inspire them or to uplift them in the journey?
Any artist also coming up a little advice would be to think clever. A lot of people opened a lot of doors in the music industry over time but “can you open doors that they could not?”
