Sona Lionel knows that the words "Man in the Mirror" are unmistakably associated with Michael Jackson's fourth No. 1 hit of 1988. But after everything the 20-year-old Milwaukee rapper has been through, those four words ended up having a very profound, personal meaning to him, King of Pop or no King of Pop.

In a bold move, Sona named his debut album after Jackson's poignant single, and when it's released on June 25 (also his 21st birthday), he's is hoping "Man in the Mirror" can take on a new, updated and local identity -- one that isn't afraid to be real in a genre he says is faulted for often being fake.

"I named (the album) that because it's based in reality," he says. "If you stand in front of the mirror, the person you see is the real you. At times, people hate to see that person. At times, people don't want to be seen for who they are and they go around acting differently."

Born in Cameroon in West Africa, Sona moved to Milwaukee at the age of 17 to pursue his dream of becoming a recording artist. Now, as a local rap artist, producer and label founder -- he started Imperial Records last year -- he says his goal is to bring about a positive change in the Milwaukee hip hop community and help the scene achieve national recognition.

Achieving this goal, he says, beginning with getting real.

"I don't rap about bitches and hoes or anything like that. I talk more about the realities of life -- like the suffering I saw my whole life in Africa. So I take the things I've experienced and try to figure out what we can do to make it better. I've heard so many people rap about having stuff that they don't have, like 22-inch rims on the Cadillac. But you should see what they are actually driving. Basically, they don't accept that picture of who they are; they try to picture someone else. If Lil' Wayne wants to talk about having diamonds, that's fine 'cause he's got them, but if someone like me stands at the microphone talking about things I don't have, how is that going to profit me?"

As a child in Cameroon, Sona had two primary interests: becoming a doctor to work on a treatment for HIV, and -- thanks to a video game -- music.

"I didn't even know that I could do music until I was 12 years old," he says with a French-influenced accent. "My brother and I were playing Sega and when the instrumental music came on we just started freestyling and flowing to the rhythm of the song. Ever since then I saw that there was something in me that was different from the other kids."

He started familiarizing himself with American music and French hip-hop, which was taking off at the time, and gained a bit of notoriety doing rap battles around town. By age 17 he had worked his way into a record contract, but at the verge of signing, he and his older brother moved to the United States, arriving in Milwaukee in July 2003.

"I had to start everything from scratch. People ask me why I came to Milwaukee and I don't look at it as because my dad was here, I look at it as there was a greater purpose for me here in Milwaukee and I see myself as the person who is going to create an impact and change in the music in Wisconsin. Milwaukee's got a lot of talent, but most of these people never get the chance to be heard on a national level."

He enrolled in the pre-med program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but ultimately graduated in 2006 with a degree in biochemistry.

"After I graduated, everything changed," he says. "My interest now was primarily music. I took some of the money I'd saved and recorded at the Record Lab Studio in Riverwest in 2006."

Although not officially released until June 25, "Man in the Mirror" has been climbing national charts, including the CMJ new music report for the hip hop genre. Locally, you can hear his single, "Dreams," on WKKV-FM (V100) and nationally, well, take your pick of college stations in Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Chicago, Miami and a dozen others.

Sona has a goal is putting Milwaukee on the music map, and so far, he's well on his way.