The Playground Meets: SNS
Written By: Disney Molina
Harlem rapper SNS is everything you love about New York Hip-Hop rolled into one. The persona, the bars, and unmatched ability to make a hit that can blare from the speakers no matter where you go.
He’s made waves all on his own, but also has cosigns from some of the biggest names in the game. From Meek Mill to DJ Khaled, Troy Ave, and Dave East - SNS has been fortunate enough to work with these artists as well as obtain their respect. He has been putting in work in the industry for nearly a decade, slowly rising through the ranks with songs like “Nasty Work” feat. Dave East and “Dougie” feat. Jim Jones and delivering hits every step of the way. SNS gotten opportunities one can dream of like being able to spit for Funk Flex in 2017 and appearing on the Sway in the Morning show in 2013 and has since been on fire
SNS says being from Harlem evoked a hunger in him that pushed him to always put 100 percent into his craft, because he didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. Harlem is known for being a mecca of culture with various arts attached to it from Dance and Poetry to Singing and Rapping and SNS knew he wanted to contribute to the culture.
“You couldn’t just have one hot record and not do nothing. You’d be a one hit wonder. You don’t wanna be one of those.”
-SNS
A collaboration with Harlem legend Jim Jones is just a testament to the respect he’s earned over the years of crafting hits. He told us that despite all of his success, he is still very much a student of the game. Looking to fellow Harlem artists like Jim Jones and Dave East for advice and studying the way they move. Always looking for ways to take his own brand to the next level. “Jim taught me a lot when it comes to business, and how to handle the business aspect of this -- and I still learn from Jim, every day”
As far as Dave East, the two have a mutual respect for one another and are very close. He says that East pushes him to perfect his craft in the studio by reevaluating his writing and recording process.One day Dave East was driving past SNS neighborhood and he stopped to greet the upcoming rapper since then the two have built a friendship and collaborated on Nasty Work . SNS admits that some of the best advice he has gotten on the game has come from East. He shares how he was not too fond of writing however East pushes him to keep going so that he can never be caught off guard.
He got his first real taste of superstardom in 2017 when social media devoured his smash hit “Love Come Down” with Kid The Wiz. It was this record that landed him heavy rotation on the radio and amassing 700k views on the video. SNS says that this was a completely unexpected hit for him, and he actually put off doing a verse for quite some time before eventually getting around to doing it. In the age of Youtube and Instagram Love Come Down came and conquered inspiring millions of challenge videos and marking its territory as part of the soundtrack to summer 2017.
This was the formula - SNS has been utilizing his social media platform to acclimate the audience with his versatility as an artist and the persona that sets him apart from his competition, while still trying to stay true to the essence of Hip-Hop.
The pandemic was seen as an opportunity to grow for SNS and it’s proving to pay off with the amount of work he’s been able to drop. “I seen a lot of niggas go from starting line up to being benchwarmers at this point. I was aggressive with putting this music and putting out this content. If there's anything they need to know, it’s this shit ain't gone stop”
When asked about what he wants people to know about him, SNS wants you to know that his grind doesn't stop. “ I ain't letting up no time soon - I never run out of records” - SNS says he’s got a lot of hits in the stash and you should expect a strategic rollout in the coming months.
Check out the visual for “On Me” - the latest release of his most recent project, “Not A Humble Summer, Vol.2''