Young Stunna Opens Up About His Music Evolution. Sandile Msimango, popularly known by his stage name Young Stunna is a South African singer. He is known for his hit singles “Bopha” and “Adiwele”. He has also extensively worked with record producers DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small.
He began his music career as a Hip-Hop artist, performing at local events for free in his neighbourhood. “I was first a hip-hop artist. I didn’t know anything about amapiano… I then started working with artists in my hood to figure out where we wanted to go with the sound because [at the time] we discovered private amapiano, which was at kasi,” he said.
“That sound was dominant in places like Daveyton and Soweto – this is where we learnt it the most. I didn’t have Instagram at the time nor could I even afford data for [social media]. So, it was hard for me to push my craft on Instagram, the streets actually helped push me and put me out there. My first song popped in the streets… I didn’t know about TikTok or how to promote my music on Instagram – so I needed to learn all about that,” he added.
While pursuing his career, Young Stunna was a street hawker selling clothes, sweets, cigarettes, and anything that could sustain his music dream. “I sold everything. I had to make money for me to be able to record my music and look good while performing. I needed to maintain my image even though I wasn’t making money from music. I knew it would eventually pay off.”
