Sunny thank you for interviewing with Nefarious Supply, to get this interview started tell about your self who is Sunny Adams and how did you get started as a musician?
Short answer, Sunny Addams is a storyteller. Long answer, Sunny Addams is the device I created to share and explore the narratives, ideas and reflections that I had seen in this world. Music has always been an incredible important aspect of my life, as a kid I was an avid music listener. I remember the first album I ever listened to was probably the Space Jam Soundtrack but between then and now, I’ve listened to a lot of everything. I didn’t always want to be a musician. When I got to high school, a friend of mine was showing me a song of his and I offered to help and sing on it. I showed people at school and they really fucked with it, so I was oh shit, am I actually good at this? Then it slowly started from there. I started writing songs by myself but never releasing them, until about late 2020. In 2021, I linked with my engineer Lil E$$o, and that’s when it really began to move forward.
Where are you based out of, how has this area influenced you and your sound and what is the scene like for underground artists?
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada but I’m based out of Pickering, Ontario, Canada. The burbs. I would definitely say this had a huge influence on me and my sound. Many of the people I create and work with I’ve met living here, and they been essential to my growth as an artist. I went to high school in Pickering and that provided me a really unique experience. Pickering felt like the exact point where the city became the suburbs and therefore, a lot of the music, culture and style of the city was infused into the music and culture of the burbs. It’s quite unique in that way and specific as well. I think a lot of the people I met all brought their unique experiences and as a result, I was exposed to a lot of different music, film and art.
The underground scene for the Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area in general, I think is the best it’s ever been. Especially amongst a lot of the musicians and creatives I know (Remsen, Jetlag, Sara Sidheri, Cantkilldyl, Lil E$$o, Antwunn, Nolan Balance to name a few) it feels like we’re on the cusp of a new dawn. Our sounds, visuals and art is nothing really like what’s come before. I feel like we’re elevating the taste level of the city.
In addition to your location what artists have had a big influenced on you, and as your career grows what artists do you eventually want to work with?
It is probably very derivative to say Drake, but he is one of the biggest artists in the world. More than they music he makes, I think Drake inspires a lot of us from Canada by just showing us its possible to blow up being from here. Musically I would have to say Kid Cudi, Andre 3000 and Frank Ocean. Sonically I really enjoy all of those artists but its the unique song writing that always resonates with me the most. Andre’s introspection, Cudi’s honesty and vulnerability and Frank’s imagery and world building are all things I pull from and influence my songwriting process. Oh, and Young Thug too. Lately though, I’ve been a big fan of Pierre Bourne, Sofaygo, Baby Keem and Yeat. They all bring something vastly different to the hip hop game. I’m honestly more excited to work with producers than artists in the future. There’s so many incredible producers in the game right now, Pierre, Kenny Beats, Take a Day Trip, Wondagurl. Local producers I wanna work with too, Toronto has some of the best.
Tell us about your experience as an underground artists what are somethings you’ve learned on your journey?
I’ve been seriously pursuing music from about a year and half now. Before that I spent a lot of time in my head, trying to decipher the perfect time to jump in. And though I’m happy with where I’m at now, the biggest thing I’ve learned is there is no right time to start. You’ll never “be ready”, you just gotta start one day. Over these past few years I’ve made some public and private mistakes as an artist, but that’s all apart the journey. When you learn to take things in stride, you really just become grateful for all the experiences you have. One thing I struggled with a lot at the beginning of making music was patience. There’s a saying, “the fastest way to get to where you wanna be, is slowly”.
You can’t let anyone, including yourself, speed up your creative process. Ride it out and you’ll see the fruits of your labour eventually. Finally, I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is you must become friends with failure. In order to experience success, you have to take chances and with that you open the door for more failures. If you run from that, you’ll miss opportunities. If you embrace the reality that you will fail, eventually you’ll hit when it counts.
In addition to things you’ve learned if you could give any one that is starting out right now what would it be?
Ask Questions. Better to be a fool for a moment than a fool for life. Even if you think you’re being annoying or bothering someone, or whatever, It’s always best to ask questions for what you don’t know. Always being curious and willing to learn is invaluable in any career I feel.
So let’s get into your music you have a couple of singles our right now including PERC BABY, SOLJAH, and BEDSTUY. Tell us about these songs including what inspired them, who helped you with production, and out of all your songs right now which one is your favorite?
I really love all my songs honestly. On my end of the year list for 2021 all my songs were like top 50 or above. They’re snapshots of important moments for me and every time I listen to them I am brought back to where I was writing them and how I was feeling during that time. Perc baby was indirectly inspired by the show Euphoria funny enough. I don’t always write from a really personal lens, sometimes I like to imagine myself in the situations I write about, how I would feel, what I would be experiencing. Perc baby was like that for me. It was produced by whitemayo, a producer I found off of YouTube, where I find almost all of my beats. It just spoke to me and that song flowed out of me within like 45 minutes. Bedstuy was produced by $IRWAVE, and it was created as a fun anthem I knew my friends would fuck with. I feel like its really special and it came together nicely. Soljah, produced by Wick is easily my favorite. That song is like my personal anthem and I use it re-center myself every time I feel discouraged about my creative process. It really exemplifies who I am and how I carry myself, you know? Never say die, Soljah mentality.
So what’s next for you in 2022 where do you want to be by the end of the year, and what are your long term goals?
I love performing, so I want to have done as many shows as possible before the years done. I have a plan for my first EP that will drop this year as well. It will be a slight sonic shift from what I have been putting out and will be more RnB focused. I’m excited for that. By the end of year, I definitely want to release some merch for my fans to cop and do some acting hopefully as well. Along with the obvious, like getting my music out to even more people and just creating even better art. My long term goals, are definitely focused on growing my brand, ETS, bigger and better. Partnering with more artists and creatives, and getting to the point where I can do this fulltime as a career. If possible, I also want to remain an Independent artist as long as possible. Having my own label in the future is something that really excites me.
Who should we interview next on Nefarious Supply?
Lil E$$o, he is the definition of self-made.
Any last words?
You’ll be seeing more of me for a long time.