For more than three decades, Sonny Sandoval has been one of the most unmistakable voices in heavy music — the spiritual core of P.O.D., the San Diego band whose blend of metal, punk, hip-hop, and reggae helped define a generation. But with his new solo project, Sonny Dread, Sandoval isn’t reinventing himself so much as returning to a part of his musical DNA that’s been there since childhood.
Raised in one of the most culturally diverse music hubs on the West Coast, Sandoval grew up surrounded by reggae long before it became a mainstream American festival staple. “Ever since I was a kid, San Diego’s reggae scene was huge,” he says. “My uncle was one of the pioneers bringing reggae to local radio. It’s deep in our culture here.”
That lifelong foundation is the beating heart behind Sonny Dread, a project born in the stillness of the COVID lockdowns, when Sandoval began collaborating with producers across the world — Germany, Argentina, and beyond — writing to rhythms traded over the internet. The result is a collection of songs that merges the roots he grew up on with the grit of San Diego street culture and Sandoval’s unmistakable flow.
The first single, “Sleeping Lion,” is a moody, slow-burning hybrid Sandoval describes as “neighborhood roots” — not traditional Jamaican reggae, but something West Coast in its swagger and Latin-soaked pulse. “It’s rootsy, but it still has that San Diego street element,” he says. The track’s title came directly from the German producer who supplied the rhythm, but the song quickly became a symbolic awakening. “It feels long overdue. I’ve wanted to do a reggae record for years.”
If “Sleeping Lion” reflects the simmering spiritual confidence of Sandoval’s reggae upbringing, the second single, “Talk to God,” hits with boom-bap urgency. Produced by longtime collaborator Q-Unique — who also drops a verse — the track leans fully into hip-hop while doubling down on Sandoval’s foundation of faith. “Everybody’s saying something, and nothing’s lining up,” he says. “At the end of the day, it comes down to my relationship with God. It’s as simple as talking to Him.”
Spirituality in rock has always made P.O.D. an outlier, but in reggae, Sandoval notes, it’s woven into the fabric. “Before I ever read the Bible, I was hearing scripture in Marley, Third World… all of it,” he says. “Those influences shaped me long before I realized it.”
With more singles on the way and a full album dropping later this year, Sandoval is already mapping out live plans — smaller rooms, reggae festivals, opening sets with longtime West Coast peers. “I just want to get in a van with the homies and play reggae,” he says. “No pressure, just fun.”
For an artist whose voice helped shape one musical movement, Sonny Dread feels less like a sidestep and more like a homecoming — the sound of a lion finally waking up.
Watch the full interview with Sonny Sandoval online below!
