Today’s song is “Happy To Serve” by SONI. The Orange County LA resident was born in the UK and raised here in the states.
Her love for music starts with disco and old skool hip hop and she started singing in a gospel choir in her teens, challenging the brown girl stereotype. At the age of 18, she sang in a small choir with Lurine Cato (winner of 2013 Mobo) in a local church. Soni also worked with DJ Phoenix on East Side Records on a Garage tune called Sunshine released in 2001. Soni had received a Prince’s Trust Award and worked with London Arts and City Showcase before leaving for the USA to care for her father who sadly passed and was not able to come back to UK for many years.
She formerly sang for Buttercuts Records band “The Pistachios,” a group that started out as a Sunday jam session but turned into a unique blend of funk, reggae and ska with a smidgen of hip hop thrown in.
Self-described as a “corner shop girl singing of freedom” SONI writes of immigration issues, loss of loved ones, and how the love of friends and family make life worth it all.
This track combines soulful vocals with and snappy R&B rhythms that sound like Adele meets Aretha Franklin. Her music excites with its optimistic upbeat feel.
This track is off her 3-song EP due out July 24 via London’s Buttercuts Records. It recalls the angst she went through being the shopkeeper’s daughter. “Yeah I’m that girl from around the way, the one pops tried to hide.. Cuz he didn’t want me to get into trouble.”
Listen below and for more information check out her Facebook, and Instagram pages.