History tells that hip-hop began as a voice for Black youth and a means to express through music and fashion. Today’s artists make no exception, pushing the limits of what’s “cool” to be more individualistic and authentic. While some flaunt colored hairstyles and off-the-runway looks, others stick to the classic streetwear styles that age with grace.
Without a doubt, the word honesty is a pilar within the hip-hop community. Through the years, the greatest have held up despite what popular culture deems hip-hop due to their ability to remain authentic in themselves. That honesty allows listeners to take in each bar one by one by one and build a connection to the artist. One, in particular, Richmond, Virginia’s own Peter $un aka Sunny the self-proclaimed “scumbaby” who functions effortlessly on his level of cool.
“I’m a rebel. I’m a non-conformist. I like to go against the grain with everything I do. I'm my own person.”
A Gemini, Sunny says it’s in his nature to become infatuated with things and quickly move on to the next gem. However, it’s his upbringing that allowed him the freedom to find himself and the confidence to move on his own accord.
“You know how a lot of people’s parents are strict? My parents were just like figure it the fuck out,” he laughed. “They always gave they little opinion, even to this day with my music they kind of like, ‘We'll see if it works out,’ but they still give me that leniency and that space to discover myself on my own.”
His father born in the 40’s lived through the era of segregation in Virginia, also known as the state in which the first slaves were brought to and put on auction blocks. His mother, who’s in her 50s was born in the country of Franklin, Virginia. Together, however, they provided Sunny with experience and understanding of life as a Black millennial very few get to grasp which further fed the way he carries himself as an individual. “I got two different aspects of life,” he stated. “I just always indulged in it because I was always interested in people's past. I believe the past repeats itself multiple times.”
However, Peter $un the artist is a different breed. “My music is its own entity. It has always kind of been.” As an artist, Sunny paints pictures with his lyrics telling stories of situations both personal and those he’s watched with a bird’s eye view. His gift, relatability. Holding nothing back, it was as if two friends were communicating and sharing stories throughout, making connections and relating as if we knew each other’s background. “When they listen to [my music] it's like ‘Damn!” You know, it feels crazy because it's like ‘Damn it feel like I'm talking,’” he stated. Regardless of your situation, all he wants is to make everyone feel okay about talking about their shit. “I want to make it easier to be there like to be present.”
“That's how I always try to look at it because our plights and our problems at this exact moment, yeah, they may be a resemblance of the past but at the same time, we're in a different age where things occur a little different. People want to hear different things. So I kind of want to give them that bounce, but at the same time give them that realness and perspective, but keep that fun vibe to it.”
That bounce can be described in his words, “depressing with rainbows.” With Sunny there’s no bullshit, “I got problems just like y'all. We all got problems, we ain’t sugarcoating it,” he adds. His lyrics typically come with a notion of reality, the constant quest to figure life out but with the understanding that no one knows what the hell is going on. It’s a sense of humility sprinkled into every song. Nevertheless, the rainbows, or fun is all in the production. In one track you may hear more lo-fi grooves, while others come full trap and another may be EDM or samba. Though he’s been making music for 10 years, it wasn’t until his move to Los Angeles in 2017 did he solidify what we now know as Peter $un.
“I moved there and I met up with homies like Blue Rondo, that's like my most frequent collaborator, he makes basically all the beats that I rap on damn near. We sit down and collaborate and come up with these ideas organically,” he tells. “It wasn't like we were building to a particular goal, we were just making music, having fun. That was my defining moment when I met him because I was like okay the sound we got now, I've never heard nobody doing the stuff that I was doing.”
He details the music before still had his personal touch, but also could be mistaken for someone else’s sound. Once he found his sound, he knew he’d opened the floodgates and created something only he could build. “I don't care if I'm not in nobody's lane, I just want to be me and make the music that I make and if people fuck with it, they fuck with it. If they don't, they don't that's cool, but eventually, they will because the shit I'm saying it's real and the music is musical.”
Now, here for what he’s worked for Sunny has collaborated with artists like Guapdad 4000 for his latest single “100 Proof” and created timely gems such as “Sometimes” to acknowledge his peers. Next up, an album that encompasses the scumbaby’s lifestyle and integrity. The self-titled album as he sums it up will be eclectic, “genre-bending and blending,” sound that defies anything he’s ever released.
“It's more musical than it is wordy,” he explains. “I get straight to the point. I tell people what I gotta say, and we get into the vibes. So, it's gonna be a great album to put on on Sunday and just clean your house,” - energy.
Following his intuition and trusting in the nature of time, Sunny continuously gives exactly what is needed most exactly when the world needs it. “I do everything in time so it's like this album won’t sound like the next one. I'm gonna do something completely different, but at the same time, this is its own baby. This is its own entity and I'm very excited about it,” he expressed. “It's gonna be crazy.”
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