“Sonder is the realization that every individual is passing by basically summing up how this life shit passes by”- Brent Faiyaz (2017)
If the hit Disney movie “Seventeen Again” mixed with “Moesha” then did a reboot, “Sonder Son” would be the soundtrack for the whole project. “Sonder Son” by Brent Faiyaz is an appreciable fall release. I honestly enjoyed this project in its entirety but I’m not surprised to get a great piece of work from Maryland native, Brent Faiyaz.
But who is Brent Faiyaz?
Brent Faiyaz
2014-2017
Baltimore, MD
Preceding album:
“A.M. Paradox” and “Into” by Sonder Son
A lot of you may have been introduced to Mr. Faiyaz through the 2017 summer classic, “Crew” by Goldlink ft. Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy. Of
course, Faiyaz provided his vocals on the chorus of the song which made “Crew” one of the best DMV artist collabs I have experienced since the rap group Thraxxx. Before Brent Faiyaz joined Goldlink for the song, he had already established a few EP’s/albums/mixtapes, his EP “A.M. Paradox” dropped in 2016, “Into” with group Sonder in 2016 and many singles dating back to 2014 (Natural Release, Allure, Invite Me, Poison, Too Fast). Another way to find his work is through LA Based music catalog group “Soulection” (that’s how I found out about Goldlink before Crew came out).
On October 13th, 2017 Brent Faiyaz dropped his first Studio album “Sonder Son”. Sonder meaning “the realization that every individual is passing by, basically summing up how this life shit passes” as said by Brent in his 2017 interview with Soulection. For the longest, I was trying to figure out what the word Sonder meant. Based off of my google search, Sonder is a German word that means “special or private land”, a few scrolls down the meaning was “the realization that everyone has a story”. Now that I know this meaning of Sonder and applying that to the tracks on this album, I can see the connection of how this life shit passes by.
“Sonder Son” gives you that smooth late 90’s R&B feel, I caught that vibe from listening to Track 8: “Talk to You”. It was like a revamped version of Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna” which is my JAM!!!!! “Talk to You” gives me a nostalgic feel, dancing around my room talking on my neon orange, see-through landline phone! This song is a bumper.
The next track which caught my attention during my work day is Track 5: “Missin Out” and the only reason why it did was the fact that this song is about the woes that people in our age group (21-20) go through. Getting off work, waiting on your friends, not having too much but having at least enough to chill for the rest of the day, not having plans for the weekend but you’re pretty cool with that and not having work the next day (sorry for the run-on sentence)! “Missin Out” in my opinion is the song of content when it comes to chilling like you’re missing out on fun but it’s cool.
I really enjoyed Track 6: “Stay Down”. This was another nostalgic feel song. As if “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans and Donell Jones “You Know Whats Up” made a baby and “Stay Down” was it! If you disagree, let’s debate. I enjoyed “Stay Down” during my car ride home today so I already knew this track was going to be discussed. The title says it all, “If you plan to stay down, please let me know because I will be here waiting.” It’s a good relationship in limbo song. Another reason why “Sonder Son” is a dope fall release.
Bonus track that I am going to share with you is the intro Track 1: “Home”. Why Because it is my life! The song starts with his mom walking in the house yelling at him because he got his report card…he failed! When I say this song was my life!!!! I used to hate going home on a report card or interim day because it was always something. Whether it was a C or E, it was always something. Then came the punishments, my phone being taken away and no friends for the rest of the school year. Ughhhh the woes of being a high-schooler.
“Sonder Son” will be on heavy rotation for a while, I don’t think this is an album that could be overplayed. Brent Faiyaz undoubtedly has a good direction with his music and truly knows what people want to hear. I suggest that you all go ahead and add this album to your playlists and bump it tonight or in the morning during your commute to work.
Thank you for reading though. I hope I was able to put you on to some new music/new artist. Feel free to leave comments in my IG comments or inbox! I would love to hear your feedback about anything from the grammar to the actual content.
Blessings.
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