He has been making music since the 1970s and has played drums on recordings with artists including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Natalie Cole, and Steve Winwood.

Later he formed the jazz fusion band Iz Kidz, which performed regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While performing in Iz Kidz, in Oakland, California, Gonaway was introduced to Narada Michael Walden, who took an interest in his drumming skills.

Walden mentored Gonaway in many areas of his musicianship, including becoming a more diverse drummer, developing programming skills, and understanding the importance of production in the studio.

The project was built and managed by Sam Childers, the "machine gun preacher,"[clarification needed] through the Angels for East Africa organization.

[6][7][8][9] Gonaway appeared in the Whitney Houston music video for "I Get So Emotional", playing percussion in 1987, and in Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged live recording as the drummer in 1992.