Chicago native Hatesonny delivers his hard-hitting new project, GOOD LUCK, which is packed with vivid and sincere story-telling, layered production, and intense flows.
Hatesonny’s latest project GOOD LUCK covers many aspects of his turbulent life. Whether it be his younger days running through the streets of Chicago, the inevitable pitfalls of his newfound success, or rough patches in his love life, the album serves as an audible documentary of Sonny’s journey up to this point.
The project can be categorized into two halves; with the first half being based more off his “old life,” consisting of getting into trouble and doing whatever was deemed necessary to make money. The second half features several soft-singing females over organic, soulful beats, emphasizing the whirlwind of emotions experienced in his ill-fated relationships.
The first half of the album houses more gritty production, most notably on the track “No Smoke,” which contains a menacing horn reminiscent of early Waka Flocka tapes, scratching and clawing through the mix and providing a backdrop for Sonny’s onslaught. Indubitably one of the more ruthless tracks on the album, Sonny is callous to those around him who don’t share his vision of large-scale success. The track is all about cutting the bad fruit off the tree and never sacrificing his pride, with lines like, “Bro he don’t want no smoke, he a fucking joke,” and, “I’m gonna smack me a n****, I ain’t never gonna rap to a n****, no internet cap to a n****.”
“Hotbox” is another track that exemplifies Sonny’s keen ear for production and hard-hitting vocal delivery. The instrumental switches from a sampled soul drum break, to a much more lively, looped electric guitar sample that accents the verse. Almost humorously, Sonny raps, “this a real hotbox we smoking the opps,” clowning others who relentlessly claim they’re smoking “opp pack,” despite their contradictory lifestyle. Sonny’s intense cadence is perfect for narrating the story of a robbery gone wrong. His methodical, yet erratic flow showcases just how fast something can go wrong, and in the case of the robbery, that something is a body winding up in the street.
Sonny paints the picture of a dark, grimy underworld on the track “Dollhouse” through his tone, speedy flow, and cryptic vocal chops contained in the production. The beat completes the vision of dystopia through muffled bass and stuttering hi hats. Sonny takes being the man of his town very seriously, made clear with the line, “mask up in the store take whatever I want, fuck twelve, we got thirteen n****s throw em to the ground.” In Sonny’s Chicago, it is the strongest who rule, and not even the police can stop him.
From here, the album has a change of pace. The track “Solace” signals the change to softer production, with Sonny opting to ditch programmed drums for a more live feel. The beat is made up of a somber piano loop and drums, providing an apt backdrop for Sonny to detail a lost love. Recounting his struggles with an old girlfriend who struggled to keep up with his lifestyle, and eventually concluding that he has to cut her loose. She wasn’t cut from the same cloth as him, and judging from the title of the track it seems he believes he’s better off.
The first track on the second half of the project to feature another singer comes on “2008” with Shayla Jae. Shimmering production inspires nostalgia from the listener as Sonny reminisces on simpler times, about where the heart is. Shayla Jae handles the hook, calmly telling the listener not to worry. Sonny raps, “ remember in the alley he taught me how the pistol work,” illustrating how corrupted Chicago’s youth is, where learning how to use a pistol is a definitive moment in their childhood.
“Lessons,” is a standout track for a few reasons, one of them being that it is produced by the one and only Thelonious Martin. The song is a culmination of great Chicago talent as Sonny raps over the comfortable drum pockets, going over the lessons he learned from his mother and father, and several others along the way. They taught him to watch those around him, as no one is to be trusted but himself. He takes this advice to heart, spitting, “n***** steady plotting so we never lacking g.” The song ends with a sample of someone teaching the lesson that every person needs a way out, and if they’re family, they may be worth having a piece of that success.
“Feel a Way” ends off the album on a victorious note, celebratory horns champion Sonny as he goes on a chariot ride down the rocky road he took to the present day. Dodging countless traps that plague so many from his city, Sonny is blessed and ready to move past worrying about being homeless, drug addiction, and getting lost in the streets.
GOOD LUCK is HateSonny’s send off from being a local celebrity to hopefully becoming an international superstar. He uses the project as an opportunity to reflect on all the events in his past that made him who he is today, both a list of accomplishments and obstacles he overcame. After facing adversity from all over Chicago, he is finally ready to dive into the world as he is; unstoppable.