Poging GOUD - Vrij
Spiritual hustle of Young Stunna
Mail & Guardian
|July 25, 2025
For the singer, making music is about finding the rhythm in chaos, love, respect and home
In a time when algorithm-driven trends can snatch the spotlight, Young Stunna is a refreshing blend of street-bred honesty, spiritual grounding and artistic finesse.
His music doesn't beg to become viral. It doesn't chase gimmicks. Instead, it lingers. Like the taste of your mother's dombolo or an old hymn. It's music that stays. It carries the perfume of home, dusted with gold from the grind.
When Young Stunna, born Sandile Msimango, speaks, it's with the cadence of someone who's lived many lives in one, an East Rand prophet cloaked in tracksuits and township slang, his verses emerging from joy, pain, faith and youthful stubbornness.
The connection with Swayvee (Nigerian singer Ezekiel Georgewill), for instance, wasn't some boardroom strategy or a forced vibe. It was born of what his generation now calls digital divinity, Instagram DMs.
“It was casual,” he says, “but it got deep fast.”
The remix of Us was never done in a shared booth or with chest-thumping announcements. It was born in virtual silence but pulsed with a loud energy. Remote, yet not removed.
Why does Us sound different? Why does it hit you where your emotions are softest?
Young Stunna answers not with industry jargon, but with heart: “The song is about love, but I wanted to show how work takes us away from our people. I’m always busy, flying, recording, performing ... but the love never fades.”
There's a sadness and a celebration in that answer, a duality he navigates with the ease of someone raised in the paradox of township life. He knows what it means to not have enough, and still make space for joy.
Dit verhaal komt uit de July 25, 2025-editie van Mail & Guardian.
Abonneer u op Magzter GOLD voor toegang tot duizenden zorgvuldig samengestelde premiumverhalen en meer dan 9000 tijdschriften en kranten.
Bent u al abonnee? Aanmelden
MEER VERHALEN VAN Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Mpondoland at the precipice
Its plight echoes a global call to remember who we are and what we stand to lose
5 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Mail & Guardian
Namibia shifts gears in its journey to women in power
That changed with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. When she took the oath of office on 21 March, she did not just become Namibia’s first female president — she recalibrated the country’s idea of who belongs at the top.
3 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Mail & Guardian
What Multichoice, Canal + deal means
This is the French media company's largest transaction
2 mins
M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian
Student wins bullying case
Amara Mooloo says the college launched disciplinary proceedings against her instead of addressing the claims
5 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Mail & Guardian
Côte d'Ivoire vote relevant for region
Côte d'Ivoire's experience in handling electoral disputes through legal channels demonstrates the rule of law in action
4 mins
M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian
Paris, death destination of ambassadors past and present
Last week, as Spring dawned, the 5am news bulletin stopped me mid-step en route to my first cup of piping hot coffee.
6 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Mail & Guardian
Sex pest teacher: Mom speaks out
Bereaved mother recalled her son's 2022 suicide as a 52-year-old former teacher at the school appeared in court this week on 25 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault of young boys
5 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Mail & Guardian
Walk with us, President Ramaphosa
As with Marikana, the CR17 bank statements and Phala Phala — the biggest scandal of his presidency — Cyril Ramaphosa yet again finds himself in a pickle.
2 mins
M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian
When the lens sings
Vuyo Giba speaks about archiving South Africa's jazz legacy through black-and-white photography and reflects on Feya Faku's death
5 mins
M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian
Odinga: the relentless Pan-Africanist
Kenya's Raila Odinga, a pan-Africanist who dominated politics for half a century
5 mins
M&G 17 October 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size