VIRGINIA IS FOR SURVIVORS :: Trauma Tone Overcame a Stroke at 30 to Achieve His Greatest Success Yet

In the internet age of hip-hop, it can be quite challenging to break through and get heard. There are seemingly millions of other artists and producers trying to secure the same few spots in this literal game of musical chairs.

So, Trauma Tone had the cards stacked against him by default. And if that wasn’t enough, the 30-year-old suffered a stroke that threatened to derail his dreams forever. But he wouldn’t let it stop him, and now he’s certified platinum and has his first Billboard number one record, having produced “Cross Roads” on NBA Youngboy’s smash hit album Top.

But even if you haven’t hit play on Youngboy’s pain-filled melodies yet, you’ve most likely heard Trauma Tone’s work before. His resume is lengthy and filled to the brim with heaters from every pocket of the genre, from early work on Chief Keef’s Almighty So project and a sleeper hit with Yo Gotti to a Cozz and J. Cole classic.

Tone doesn’t limit himself to one kind of style and actually prefers not to craft his instrumentals with any particular artist in mind, instead making the best music he possibly can and trusting that whichever artists his beats are played for will feel the vibe and want to work. So far, there’s a method to his madness, and his career has skyrocketed in just a few years.

Ahead of his next release, a Dej Loaf and Benny the Butcher collaboration called “Get Money,” I caught up with the Charlottesville, Virginia native to talk about his work with YoungBoy, overcoming the extreme adversity he’s faced, and what’s next for the rising star.

How did you get your start?
I got my start with this record called “I Know” by Yo Gotti and Rich Homie Quan. That was my first big record. From there, I started working with a plethora of artists. But I really caught my wave when I started working with Money Man, that’s when I started to brand myself and catch my buzz.

And fast forward to now, you had a placement on a #1 album with YoungBoy.
That’s pretty big for me, that’s my first #1.

How has your style evolved since then?
That was a transitional time in general, so I think everyone was trying to come with an all-new sound. In Virginia, we pull from a mixture of a lot of sounds. We’re inspired by Go-Go from DC, the music from the south, etc. What helped me to evolve was listening to a lot of different things and being able to turn it into my own sound.

What’s it feel like to become successful at something you’ve been doing this long?
It feels like it came at me pretty fast. It’s wild because when I found out about the YoungBoy placement, I was literally in the hospital. Here I was getting all of this bad news, and at the same time, my friend Suede that I made the record with told me that we placed it with YoungBoy. At this point, I’m used to working with big artists, so it wasn’t too shocking, but I was really excited.

How did you end up in the hospital?
Basically, I had a stroke. One of the blood vessels in my brain burst. When it happened, the blood leaked into a part of my brain that caused me to have really bad headaches. I’m just thankful I’m still able to move around and work.

Did having that kind of scare change your approach to making music at all?
It definitely made me want to go harder, and it also made me appreciate my time here in general. You never know, anything can happen at any moment. I just have to make better use of my time and go harder. I appreciate life because I almost lost mine.

What are you working on next?
I have a project with Sada Baby I’m working on. I’m about 10 songs deep with Curren$y for our tape. Money Man and I are working on part two of our Trauma Man tape we made. Just trying to set the bar higher to accomplish more.