STUNNA: A STAR OF TODAY, MAKING MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE

I call my sound future music, and I get people saying “it’s not a genre of music”. I believe it’s a sound you can listen to in the future.

In high school, Stunna’s plan was to study medicine and become a doctor. When the time for university came, he opted to study economics at the African Methodist Episcopal University. In his first year of university, the boy originally called “swag stunna” by his friends, decided to pursue his passion for music concurrently with his education.

When I asked Stunna what best describes him, he said “I am just a simple, shy guy trying to do music and achieve my goals”. But Stunna is more than that, with some hit singles and an album under his belt, he has grown in his craft and has become a star. His music, branding, and songwriting, heavily focuses on the theme of love. This has grown his fan base, which consists of mostly women.

Born Lourell George, Stunna grew up in the Barnesville area of Montserrado. He grew around music and music lovers. His childhood friends include other Liberian music acts like Nuchie Meek and Jslught. While music is his first love and passion, Stunna believes he shouldn’t be complacent with the success that music has brought him.

During our interview, Stunna was asked the bolded questions, and his responses are in each paragraph that follows.

How are you coping with the pandemic?

Basically, it is the new normal. I am staying home and following the instructions of the health authorities. I only move when I need to move; and that’s for studio time.

Has the pandemic influenced your music-making process?

It has. Especially with the curfew. I like recording at night, and now I have restrictions on going out. I also like recording while vibing with my guys around. But that’s not happening now because of Corona. Now I record with just my producer.

When did you decide that you wanted to go into music?

Sounds cliché, but I would say music chose me in a way. Around the age of 8 or 9, I was already exposed to music and had the vibe. I grew up around a family that played and loved music. I grew up listening to Craig David and Joe. Music wasn’t the actual plan. I wanted to go to university and become a doctor, and I had the grades to support it. I got to university and decided to switch to economics. It was in 2017/2018, my freshman year in university, that I recorded my first song. It was actually just for fun. But afterward, with my passion for music, I decided to go into music fully.

How would you describe your sound?

I call my sound future music, and I get people saying “it’s not a genre of music”. For me, future music is a fusion of Afrosoul, Afropop, and AfroR&B. They are sounds that I feel are not being appreciated like it should be, in Liberia, or even Africa as a whole. But it has the potential to be so much bigger. I believe it’s a sound you can listen to in the future. You can come back to the sound 20 years from now, it would sound just as good, or even better. But we have a kind of market that people vibe with whatever the wave is.

Your last album was love letters and heartbreak, did it achieve what you wanted it to do?

Yes, it did, I had a goal which I achieved with the album. But I do have to say that it takes a lot to get our Liberian audience to support a body of work and not just singles. But my team and I achieved what we wanted. And as I said, my sound is future music, especially that album. I feel like 10 years from now, we can still look back at that album.

Your music focuses on a theme of love, is there a reason?

I think love is the biggest and best thing that can happen to a person. When I sing, I sing about love. Love is something very big for me. I am big on that, and it’s something I think about before recording.

What do you think is your biggest song?

As far as numbers go, that’s based on streams and views, my biggest song is “For Life”. But “Baby O” as a song, pushed my career to a whole new level. I call it the beginning of a new era for me. It was the song a lot of people vibed with.

What was the process behind making “For Life?”

I called the producer for us to record at night. When we wanted to start, we had issues with electricity and other things. We had to fix it before we could start recording. It was around 2 A.M. I had already written the song in my mind, I would say. Most of my songs, I don’t write everything, I just write down points I don’t want to forget or ideas that come to my head. After an hour, we had a song. But I replayed the song and decided to change the first verse, which was different because for most of my songs, once I have a vibe I record once. Originally, there is another version of “For Life” that I have. I remember my A&R (artiste and repertoire) was a big fan of the verse I removed. Also, there are certain songs that once I start, from the vibe, I would know the song would be good. “For Life” was like that.

You’re awaiting graduation. How did you manage school and fame from music?

It wasn’t easy, to be honest. I could be writing my test and have someone trying to take a picture. It was hard being on campus so much, and that’s from a branding or image perspective. But I had to get the papers.  I am done now, just awaiting graduation.

Would you consider your economics degree a fall-back option?

If you had asked me a year before, I would have said it is a fall-back option. But right now, I don’t see it as a fallback option. For me, I am always exploring. When I do stuff, I don’t like to sit on my hands and say it’s enough. I want to do more. So as much as I have a passion for music, I don’t know what the future holds. I also want to go into other businesses, so I believe the economic degree would come in handy along the way. Plus I paid attention and did the work to get the grades.

Thank you for talking with us.

You’re welcome

NOTES

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