Canadian rapper Sonreal was born Aaron Hoffmann in Vernon, British Columbia in 1985. Growing up in a small town, he was interested early on in skateboarding and heavy metal, but his tastes quickly shifted to a love of hip-hop after becoming fascinated with classic albums by pillars of the early-'90s East Coast scene like Nas and Mobb Deep. After graduating high school, he spent all of his free time recording his own original tracks, resulting in his earliest mixtapes such as 2006's Trapped in the Streets, 2009's The Stroll, and the more polished 2011 effort Where's Waldo. He began to be recognized for his work in Canada, and with the help of a breakout video for his track "Everywhere We Go," constant touring, and releasing of new music in the form of EPs and free mixtapes, he eventually inked a deal with Capitol Records. With the support of the label, he delivered his first proper full-length studio album, One Long Dream, in 2017.