Canadian hip-hop artist Aaron Hoffman – better known by his stage name of SonReal – says he is looking forward to being back in Red Deer as he promotes his latest EP.
Hoffman is on tour to promote For The Town, a six-song EP released last month. He said that the touring experience has been great and he looks forward to his show at International Beer Haus on May 20th.
Tickets for the show are available at We Fix It Mobile Phone Repair, The Soundhouse, International Beer Haus and Stage and Edge Clothing. Tickets are available online at www.ticketfly.com. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the doors.
“The last time we were in Red Deer I remember saying that was a really, really fun show. Everyone was just so down to have a good time,” he said.
“I remember while we were there at one point people came onstage and got wild. Everyone was so hyped. They knew the words and everything. Everyone was just excited.”
Hoffman stopped in Red Deer as he was promoting his album One Long Day. He said things have definitely changed since that tour, especially in regards to crowd response and a more solid fan base.
“Things have actually changed a lot. When I came out with One Long Day, that was kind of the first project that really started the buzz and got people talking about my music. It got people excited about what we’re doing,” he said.
“People are getting into the music, and things are starting to snowball for us. It’s partially because of the videos and all that kind of stuff, but with the For the Town EP, people have really started to go crazy. We’re doing really well on Spotify and iTunes. We’re really happy.”
Hoffman said the EP is comprised of six songs that were chosen to represent some of his best material to date, while of course leaving some songs a mystery for a full-length album he’s working on. He said the EP was meant to act as a kind of gauge for interest in a full album and so far the response has been phenomenal.
He said For The Town was a chance for him to let people get to know him and a chance to try to open himself up.
“I’m just kind of always pushing myself as an artist to try things maybe I’m not comfortable doing or trying to push myself conceptually. I’m trying to talk about things a little bit more in depth with the songs I’m writing, and I think that happened on For The Town,” Hoffman said.
“I’m at a point in my career where I really think that we’ve finally got people listening and watching – things are starting to move for us. I think it’s a really important time in my career to be letting people know who I am, and not shying away from anything I want to say, and to make great music overall.”
Hoffman said he hopes people recognize his drive in his music and his willingness to make a mark in the industry.
“What I want people to take away from my music is my story. My story is that I come from a small town, and there’s not really a lot of rappers or anybody that’s come out of the town I’m from (Vernon, B.C). My whole story is kind of fighting against the odds of what it is to do something that a lot of people don’t think you can do,” Hoffman said.
“I think that if people take anything away from For the Town, it’s that we aren’t here for a long time and everybody has dreams and aspirations – For The Town depicts going out and getting those dreams, no matter what. No matter what people are telling you, or what’s going on in your life – it’s about putting that behind you and just going for what you want to do.”
kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com
