Sonny Bama - The Long Way Home Album Review

Artist: Sonny Bama
Album: The Long Way Home
Label: South Lab/Phixeous/Select-O-Hits Records
Executive Producers: Sonny Bama

Almost two years after releasing his solo debut “Change” Sonny Bama has returned for his sophomore album “The Long Way Home.” With influences ranging from the likes of Country music to hard hitting southern hip hop (most notably Three-6 Mafia who he engineered for at one point) Bama has created a genre blending soulful yet thumping version of “country rap tunes” drenched in southern flavor. Entirely self produced (with co-producer credits going to Jason Feinstein, Gregg Fells, and Wes Bayliss on various songs) Bama has crafted his own sound that doesn’t come off forced like many of the attempts of various artists mixing country/southern rock and hip hop. This genre mixing has resulted in some bad (LL Cool J & Brad Paisley’s “Accidental Racist”) and some good (Colt Ford & Brantley Gilbert’s “Dirt Road Anthem”) but no one had yet been able to master such a natural fit as Sonny Bama has.

The heavenly guitar riffs are the backgrop for Bama’s opening “The Rant” where Bama does simply that: rants. He rants about everything ranging from Twitter, people blaming everything on the President, violence, and hate among others. Things take a much less somber vibe on “The Bottom” as Sonny & Mobile, AL native Ryan Balthrop converge on what should be the state of Alabama’s new Summer anthem. Bama & Balthrop wear their allegiance and state pride on their sleeves and Bama is unapologetic in his country ways as he tries to take outsiders into the south:

“down here we just Roll with the Tide/
Nick Saban & Jesus, yeah that’s our guys!/
football on Saturday, church on Sunday/
we’re working all week tryin to raise beer money/
just like you, my rents past due/
and the Waffle House ain’t considered fast food/
it’s a luxury…like Caviar/
sippin’ Momma’s sweet tea out a mason jar!/
the ladies wear denim and the men wear dickies/
because he’s been working hard changing oil at the Jiffy/
granddaddy named Merle, uncle named Billy/
we gone light up the grill, y’all holla if ya wit me/
eatin hush puppies and mudbugs/
and our headlights covered in lovebugs/
but we gone keep partying till the sun’s up/
yeah I been down, BUT I CAME UP… FROM THE BOTTOM!”

The middle class anthem is backed by live instrumentation and the extremely catchy vocals from Balthrop and Bama’s rhymes. Mobile singer Gregg Fells provides an incredibly soulful interlude on “Free Your Mind” which transitions ever so smoothly into the Fells/Sonny duet “Anyway” in which Bama weaves rhymes about struggling and chasing dreams as Fells provides the soulful hook. Bama also plays guitar on this one as he does on many tracks. Fells returns again for the uplifting “Get Up” while Nashville’s David Ray checks in alongside Mobile crooner Anna Stanley. The usual soulful hookmaster David Ray trades in the hook duties on this one and spits a meaningful verse while he lets Ms. Stanley and her beautiful voice handle the chorus. Yet another uplifting track where Bama and Ray motivate everyone that’s been knocked down to get back up and keep grinding and “get up out this thang and overcome being broke.”

Country rocker Wes Bayliss checks in on “On My Own” where Bayliss not only co-produce and sung on the track but also played guitar and violin. Sonny actually spins a yarn about alcoholism rapping to liquor as if it’s a woman on the first verse while Bayliss’s country vocals just add to the matter. On the 2^nd verse Sonny Bama rhymes about various drug addicts and the results in the life they lead. This one mixes storytelling with amazing vocals and an excellent message all of which are sorely lacking in today’s music not just Hip Hop. Nashville’s own JellyRoll and Mobile’s Eric Erdman join Sonny on “Old Shoes” in which the trio kick rhymes about an “old flame” (using the “old shoe” metaphor about an old love). Jelly & Sonny both flow seamlessly over the laid back beat. Greg Fells returns along with Mobile rapper Mr. 88 on “Unphased,” in which Sonny says he uses his music as his “pulpit” to deliver his message to the masses.

JellyRoll is back along with singer Josh Ewing on the albums lead single “Let Go” as Jelly & Sonny bare their soul on the track:

“it’s my life, I get by/
please let me breathe, while I/
Sit back and crack the top on a 12 pack/
and reminisce on all the nights that I would sell crack/
I been to hell and back, twice and got a shirt to prove it/
man I don’t understand how they don’t support the music/
if the devil went to Georgia and fiddled for a minute/
then me and him had a drinking competition/
in the morning and I’m drunk & I’m high too/
trying to come up with some music that y’all can ride to/
ya say ya love me but don’t buy the shit on iTunes/
how many days away I’m living from working at a drive thru?/
before I do that it’s back to the pill game/
because that’s the only time that I experienced real fame/
also the only time that I experienced real pain/
looking to Jesus because I need a real change…” – JellyRoll

“I sit and ponder, wonder would the pain stop?/
hard to play guitar when it stays in the pawn shop/
perception is that I’m doing well/
the amount of people that claim they love me’s not reflective on my record sales/
hard to tell if my music’s really groundbreaking/
I’m so close to the bottom that I can feel the ground shaking/
if anything it’s heartbreaking/
I done put my soul in it/
these dummies out here winning and barely put their toes in it/
labels just roll with it, it’s part of their agenda/
sell more products and liquor with their crooked crescendo/
do you remember? Remember a time when rappers told the truth & poured their love in the lines/
exposing the lies and gave us stories we related to/
now the nonsense, the only thing they showing favor to” – Sonny Bama

“Aint No Use” features a sample from The Meters “Aint No Use” as Sonny spits his real life raps and then Bama is joined by Fells & Memphis Three-6 Mafia affiliate Lil’ Wyte on “Jonna Lee.” “Jonna Lee” is one of the most incredible songs on the entire album bolstered by Gregg Fells’ amazing vocals which take on a blues tone while Sonny Bama’s smooth production lays the path for Bama & Wyte to spit rhymes about strained relationships and the results of these relationships. Wyte even speaks about thinking about taking his child and running away with her because of the issues with his baby mamma. The name “Jonna Lee” seems to refer to the Swedish singer of the same name who actually has a song called “Dried Out Eyes” (a line in the chorus is “dry your eyes and pack your bags”). The Three-6 Mafia influence is no more apparent than on “Can’t Hold Me” where 808s, snare, and strings as Sonny spits venomous rhymes over the thumping bass and an abstract sample (from the movie “Lawless” soundtrack). “The Long Way Home” closes out with another heartfelt track alongside Gregg Fells on “Today” which Sonny proclaims “Today is the day that I’m gonna get up and get it.” If “getting it” means producing a classic album, consider it accomplished.

You can’t box Sonny Bama into a single genre as he blends and meshes them into a plethora of amazing sounds mixed with thoughtful, meaningful lyrics. On “Change” Sonny seemed to be trying to perfect his style and craft his own lane but on “The Long Way Home” Sonny has perfected it. It’s really hard to turn this album on and just play one or two tracks, you really want to just play the whole thing through. I may be biased towards homegrown Alabama artists (and this I’m aware of) but after numerous listens I can’t get enough of this album. Sonny is a country boy that came up struggling and fighting for everything and dreaming. All of that pours out of his music and the combination of Bama & Gregg Fells makes for such an incredible paring we may have stumbled across a truly unique pairing in 2013.