She is making it big time not only in Kenya but Africa and the rest of the World personally I heard of STL real name Stella Mwangi when she did the song ‘Take it back with Mitchelle’ and I couldn’t understand how local raping can be so smooth till I found out she wasn’t based local.
Stella was born September 1st 1986, and realized her potential in music at the age of six, and her interest in music resulted from racial discrimination that was subjected to following from her family’s move from Kenya to Norway in 1991.
Since Stella was 11 years I was active in the Norwegian hip hop scene.
In 1998, she worked with an African Youth group known as "The Rise" where she produced and released an album called "Maroon".
STL then started curtain rising for various hip hop artists such as Common and Talib Kweli followed by Angelique Kidjo, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross and Flo-Rida just to name
few.
In 2005, The R.I.S.E and STL got the opportunity to perform for the one and only, Nelson Mandela while he was in Norway for an AIDS eradication campaign.
Her break into the African Hip Hop scene came in 2005, when she worked with a Senegalese Hip Hop group called Wagable in their Debut album, Senegal, produced by www.big-city.no, where she featured in two of their hit songs 'Babylon' and 'Do it' which topped the charts in Senegal and Gambia for several weeks. The album scooped the Best album of the year in Senegal for 2005.
In 2006 STL won the Kisima Awards for the most promising artist of the year, in the Kenyan awards and her single ‘Take it back’ was a major hit in Africa and in Scandinavia, and it was #1 on the East African charts in 2008, followed by my second single ‘The Dreamer’ from my debut album ‘Living For Music’ which was released October 20th 2008 in Scandinavia and Africa.
STL never stopped at that but she released her third single ‘She got it/Kool girls’ spring 2009 from my debut album. The song has been # 1 on the East African charts and still is one of the most played songs on MTV Base and Channel O which broadcasts across the whole Africa.
Since her debut album release, she have been touring in Scandinavia, USA and Africa.
The songs "Crazy", "Feeling Love" and "Swing", which she wrote with The DNC was picked by the Position Music and Choice Tracks (based in L.A) as a soundtrack for the films Save the last dance, American pie, Redline and the series; CSI (New York) , Las Vegas, Ghost whisperer, Scrubs, American Top Model and Army Wives to name few.
She was nominated for Best New Act on The MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 and won favourite female artist at the Chaguo La Teeniez Awards (East Africa) in 2010.
STL is currently working on her second album and hoping to get signed by a major label.
Among the very many artist the female have not been seen to penetrate a lot with rap and hip hop but STL is laying up a new platform for female artist not to scare off and let gender be a factor to what kind of music makes them tick, but she encourages all start slow and it will rise slowly.
This is definitely heading to the top of the charts not only in Africa but worldwide.
visit her website www.stellamwangi.com (pix and biography courtesy of)
