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Stunna Girl began recording rhymes in her father’s closet when
she was only 8. Her passion for music continued to grow as she
entered adolescence and before long, her freestyles started gain-
ing attention online. Stunna had her eye on the prize and didn’t let
anything keep her from her dream, even time behind bars. “I was
incarcerated when I was 14 until I was 17, basically three years,”
Stunna says. “During that time, I was in lockdown and I would
freestyle to myself to make the time go by. I already had a viral
video of me rapping in my city, so I knew I could do it and when I
got out. I started taking it seriously.”Spending time behind bars not only motivated Stunna to dive
headfirst into the music industry, it gave her a sense of purpose.
Incarceration allowed her to be the voice of an entire demographic
of kids who’d experienced the same struggles while growing up in
the ’hood. Upon her release, Stunna made a beeline to the studio.
“When I got out of jail, I didn’t even know how to book a studio
session or how to find a beat,” Stunna explains. “But someone
from a studio had seen one of my videos on Facebook and hit me
up to come record. The first thing I did was record a song and put
it out, and it started doing numbers. Then I found a videographer,
did my first [official] video, and after that, I pretty much got the
hang of it.”Once she found her groove and got acclimated to the industry,
Stunna was quick to release her first mixtape, “You Know What
the Fuck Goin’ On,” in March 2019. From that tape came her
biggest hit to date, “Runway,” a high-energy and punchy tune
that speaks of her freestyle roots. “I made ‘Runway’ while I was
learning about the music business,” Stunna says. “I was traveling
everywhere and over a period of time, I had a bunch of songs. I
eventually made a tape and I freestyled ‘Runway.’ Nobody liked
the song, but I liked it so I put it on my tape. I knew it was going to
be dope.”Stunna’s intuition was spot-on, as the single soon took off on
TikTok. It became an anthem for TikTokers strutting their stuff, and
through her younger sister, Stunna learned it was being enjoyed
by people all around the world. “[Fans] started sending me a lot
of videos of them dressing up and doing runway stuff,” Stunna
shares. “That’s how I knew my song was big.”Stunna may be new to the industry, but she knows one thing:
Now that she’s got some momentum, she must build on it. So
she’s launching her most ambitious project to date. “The process
was very different because I’m actually working with producers,”
Stunna says. “They’ve been bringing out different sounds for me
that I’m not normally used to, so that’s been great. Also, once they
hear my music, a lot of artists want to be on it.”Stunna has taken her time to make this project the best it can be
and to give her fans a peek at every side of her. There’s more to
her than just “Runway,” and this project will provide something for
every type of fan. “I’m already, like, five different people in one,”
Stunna says. “There’s the R&B Stunna, there’s freestyle Stunna,
there’s ratched Stunna. You’ve got all of that on the project and
all of the songs are different. My first project was pretty much all
over the place because I was experimenting. This project is where
I found my sound, and it’s more straight to the point.”Stunna has come a long way, and her tattoos show her evolution.
Stunna got her first tattoo at the age of 12 in somebody’s garage.
Today, she’s using her work to reflect on where she’s come from
and what she aspires to become. “I got a rose and a clock on my
neck to cover up a name,” Stunna explains. “I was done with the
past and I’ve served my time already. I’m a rose that grew up from
the concrete.”Just like the verse from Tupac suggests, Stunna has defied
nature’s laws by overcoming adversity. We’re ready to watch her
bloom.