Who Am I
SoniQ (real name Dumisani Madiba) is a hip hop artist and songwriter with a very unique talent. His versatility and style set him apart as an enigmatic, and charismatic, hip hop artist.
My Childhood
Born in Westville, Kwazulu Natal, he subsequently moved to Johannesburg with his mother and two siblings at the age of 3. And even around those ages, he had an affinity to artists such as Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.
His influences include the hip hop greats he grew up listening to, and go on to incorporate other genres such as Rock, Jazz, and Dancehall. SoniQ has also been known to co-produce, play the drums and sing on some of his recordings. He learned to play the drums in a church band at the age of 12 and always kept his rhythm.
He puts on a great show and his experience as a performer comes from all the shows he’s done as a solo artist, with previous label affiliates and alongside his band; with whom he was chosen as one of the top performers in the South African round of the Hard Rock Rising competition – hosted by Reverbnation and Hard Rock Café. Soniq has also been featured on a multitude of other artists’ records, such as Shezzy K’s ‘White Walls,’ which was used on the soundtrack of the locally produced film, ‘Speed of Life.’
Early Career Years
Throughout his high school years, SoniQ often participated in rap battles and competitions as a way to compete and show off his skills. It was in these formative years that he founded a rap group called Audio Infinite with Solid The Gifted and Sibusiso Ntanzi – during breaks and after school they would either be hosting cyphers or playing basketball & soccer for the school team (Holy Family College). Incidentally, it was at this school’s hall where SoniQ rapped for a crowd for the very first time! He would go on to enter Channel O’s MC Africa competition, which sought to find the continent’s best MC’s, and SoniQ made it to the top 10.
In that same year, he signed under a newly established, independent record label, Aviator Music Group. SoniQ frequently appeared on the label’s singles, mixtape (Prepare For Take Off), and their album (The Take Off). After 4 years with the label, SoniQ ended his contract for creative reasons. During his tenure at the label, however, SoniQ featured on singles that were playlisted on local, campus, regional and national radio stations to much critical acclaim.
First Solo Projects
In 2016, SoniQ independently released ‘The Time Traveller’s EP.’ A highly dense and conceptual project that spawned the songs ‘We Water,’ ‘2067’ & ‘My Light Blue Days,’ some of his most highly regarded recordings. His creative flows and intricate rhyme patterns always make for an interesting listen, and SoniQ’s love, appreciation and knowledge of music are clearly brought out in his work.
SoniQ has also been known to organize & MC events, DJ, as well as do live sound engineering for a wide range of local music acts. SoniQ embarked on a solo music tour along the southern border of the country (SA), starting in Durban and ending in Cape Town. The artist started exploring his other talents, so he started DJing and MCing events to great fanfare and organically worked on building his fanbase across many demographics. Some of these bookings had him doing residencies for an extended amount of time at various hotels belonging to the Premier Hotel Group.
The Time Traveller's EP is available for online streaming and purchasing, with physical copies selling at his live shows. Its creative process was captured and documented in a two-part documentary with ‘2stina Visuals,’ called ‘Night & Day – The Making of ‘The Time Traveller’s EP.’ The documentary can be viewed on Youtube. The project was also profiled, and some of the songs playlisted, on the continentally syndicated satellite radio station, Channel Africa.
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The Time Traveller's EP
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Not Free
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The Free Style Compilation
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Particles EP
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One Man
PARTICLES EP & ‘THE WONDERWALL’
Following the release of his first solo EP, he followed it up with the release of a couple of mixtapes (‘SoniQ Boom, The Free Style Compilation); as well as with the release of the ‘PARTICLES EP’ – some of the songs stemming from the ‘3 Days A Song’ campaign in which he released a song every 3 days for a whole month!
‘The Wonderwall’ is his forthcoming debut album, and it is slated for an imminent release. ‘One Man’ was released in early 2024 as a promo single, with the album’s first official single being ‘Model C’. The songs on the album are dynamic and represent the culmination of his life’s work.
While working on the album, SoniQ also helps many vulnerable youths by facilitating free music courses, as well as courses on Film & TV production.
Free+ Not Free+ One Man+ We Water+ Time+ Strangers+ Store Ray+ Rosy Shades+ Prison+ Poison+ Night & Day+ Fly Away+ 2067
Drill Music In Jozi+ Final Warning+ Hard 2 Luv+ Mizunderstood+ Not Too Late+ Prayers Up+ Rare Freestyle+ Ten Crack Babies+ The Misunderstandings of SoSo Cool+ The Store Ray Interlude+ Whoopty Freestyle
Features
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