Have you ever wondered who was responsible for the electric-punk rocker sound infused with a sprinkle of hip-hop in Chris Brown’s I Can Transform You” or the way Ariana Grande professed her love and ride-or-die mentality for a special someone in Right There. Does the name Lonny Bereal sound familiar? If you love good RnB music than this name should probably ring a bell. He’s only written for some of the top RnB artists of our time. Kelly Rowland, Chris Brown, Trey Songs and Jamie Foxx, just to name a few, can vouch for his tremendous ability to bring life and soul in his music. Not only does Lonny write and produce for our favorite entertainers, but he also steps in the studio himself and has released his own studio album titled The Love Train and two mixtapes Love Games Part 1 and Love Games Part II which are filled with his personal experiences on love and happiness. Oops we’ve said too much already. How about you hear it from the man himself. True magazine had the pleasure to interview the very talented and innovative Lonny Bereal for a close and informative look into his life and career as one of the many brilliant and artistic songwriters and the oh-so lyrically and vocally gifted RnB artists.
Many of the greatest vocally talented individuals aren’t touring around the world performing their hit singles, many are singing background for already established entertainers. This is exactly where Lonny started out. Some of the largest performers, then and now, such as Kelly Rowland, Ruben Studdard and K-CI and JoJo, has trusted him to add his soulful voice to their music and tour with them all across the world. Like many artists, singing was something that came natural to him having had grew up in a musical family. “The Bereal family was a big musical family on the Gospel side. I already had relationships with people in the industry. It was kind of handed to me. I never really had to audition because of my musical family.” The irony of it all is that though singing comes so natural to Lonny you would think it was something he wanted to do his whole life. Even though he sings so beautifully, Lonny will tell you that he started off as a drummer. Singing was something he didn’t want to participate in, but only did so because his Church wanted him to. I am ascertain the RnB world is happy he changed his mind.
Writing music to match the artist can be a very complex task. Many artists convey certain images for themselves and expect their music to match their personality. It takes the right kind of songwriter to find the swag of each artist they work with. According to Lonny, “Most of the time the song is created for the artist right there. 70 percent of the time the artist is in the studio. Certain songs are tailor made for that artist right there. Sometime I have meetings with the artist.” With writing being like a second language to Lonny, it isn’t difficult for him to find the rhythm of each artist he works with.
After over a decade of writing hit after hit, Bereal used some of his songwriting expertise to embark on his solo career. In 2011, he released his first single “Favor” off his album The Love Train featuring the one and only Kelly Rowland. Lonny says the single’s concept is self-explanatory. “Let me do this favor for you. We gonna get it on. You just lay down and I’ll do the favor. The record was initially for Chris (Chris Brown) but he let me have it. The label wanted a feature. Kelly Rowland and I are like siblings so I thought she would be perfect for it. She flew in and we hit the studio.”
Earlier this year the singer/songwriter released his new single titled “Things I Would Say.” The video was also released earlier this year and shows Lonny serenading his love interest in an attempt to win her back. “Most of the time any song I write the title is self-explanatory. The story of the record is in the song. When you lose your woman you want to get them back so you do whatever to get them back. If I could have you back today, these are the things I would say to you.” I’m sure any lady of Bereals’ won’t find it hard to forgive him after listening how beautifully he sang his heart out in this song.
When a talent as brilliant as Lonny Bereal has worked with so many other incredible and talented artists, it is highly difficult to say which project was favorable. This is why it was very hard for Lonny to indicate what his favorite was. “It is tough because I had a good time working on Jamie Foxx’s Unpredictable album. The most memorable I would have to say would be Chris Brown’s Graffiti album. I was one of the writers he put on the list to fly out and work on it. Me and Chris lived together working on the album. Graffiti never got the awards it should have because the world crucified him. It was a special time-The most memorable time because it was us against the world at that time and we won.”
What makes Lonny different from other artists is his humbleness. He is not shy to say he has more work to do to get where he knows he can be. When asked if there was ever a moment he looked back and said “I made it,” he replied, “I never felt I made it. I’ve had a moment of validation. Moments that gave me more confidence. That’s one of the things that drive me. Once you get a Grammy or ASCAP award you gotta keep doing it-keep going. This is one of the things that had made me humble.” After several Grammy nominations and ASCAP awards, success should be his middle name. As modest as the Grammy nominee is, he is one who is always pushing himself to work harder. You may wonder what his secret to success is. According to Lonny, there isn’t one. “Work hard. There is no secret to success. Don’t wait for nothing to fall into your lap. The most talented person doesn’t win, the hard worker wins. Talent and working hard combined makes danger.”
The singer has been working very hard this year. He is currently working on his album The Lonny Bereal Project and has written songs on his lil bro Chris Brown’s new album “X” as well as Trey Song’s Trigga album. Tank and Jamie Foxx has also included the songwriter on their upcoming projects. Lonny also has his own record label being distributed by Bungalo under Universal Music Group. After all his hard work, Lonny loves being around beautiful women, playing basketball, turning up in Miami or Vegas and just being a big kid having fun.
True Magazine would like to thank Lonny Bereal for taking the time out to let us get to know him a little better.
By: Simone Grant
