Winston-Salem, NC · progressive R&B · soul

Sonny Miles

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Winston-Salem progressive R&B — gospel, funk, and hip-hop bent slightly askew; featured on Barack Obama's 2019 year-end playlist, and still climbing.

Sonny Miles is a singer, songwriter and producer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His music sits in a contemporary R&B and soul lineage, built from gospel-shaped vocal phrasing, funk-leaning bass and drums, and an arrangement sense borrowed from hip-hop production.

He writes and records much of his own material, favoring live instrumentation over programmed backing. His songs tend toward mid-tempo grooves layered with harmony vocals, an approach that keeps the arrangements warm rather than glossy, and that lets the vocal lines carry the emotional weight of each track.

Miles made his commercial debut in 2019 with a four-song EP. That same year he appeared on Lesthegenius' song "Raleighwood Hills," a track Barack Obama placed on his annual list of favorite songs, giving Miles his first exposure well beyond North Carolina and setting the stage for the years of work that followed.

Over the next several years he built toward a first full-length record through singles and featured appearances, working independently. That process led to Gamma, released independently in February 2024, his first full album after years of steady output.

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progressive R&Bsoul