Stunna This, Stunna That

The viral rapper, whose real name is Suzanne, is a clear product of her environment. "Sleepin' on these cold floors made a bitch cold," she raps in "Next Level." Her storied upbringing, which includes being incarcerated for the better part of her teenage years, informs her raps and her unique perspective when compared to other MCs in the game.

After her song "Runway" blew up on Tik Tok in the early days of 2019—before "trends" on Tik Tok were a thing, mind you—Stunna Girl has been on a steady pursuit to prove herself. Her latest EP, STUNNA THIS STUNNA THAT, is the first of those pursuits. And she's just getting started.

We sat down with Stunna Girl to talk high school, Hannah Montana, and inspiration.

For those who don’t know you, who are you? Where do you come from? What do you do?

I’m Stunna Girl. I’m 22, from Sacramento, California. I rap and I sing.

How did you first get into rapping?

I first got into rapping, honestly, when I was eight. My dad had a studio closet, and he told me to record. I was already singing for my family and stuff. But ever since that one day, I always knew how to rap. It’s kinda weird. He showed me the recording process, and how to do my ad libs. I just never forgot it. So that one studio session stuck with me.

So you just all of a sudden knew how to rap?

I was already harmonizing. Well, I knew how to argue real good. It’s just funny. When I was younger, I had a smart mouth but I was arguing with everybody at my house. So they were like, “Just say all the stuff you normally be saying! Just talk!”

So it was just a different outlet.

Yeah. I went from singing to just talking, saying what I wanted to say.

What were you like in high school? Were you into the arts? You said you liked to argue, did you do debate or anything like that?

Honestly, for my high school, I was actually incarcerated. I did 9th grade, but after that I was incarcerated until I was 17.

What was that experience like?

At first, I didn’t understand it. I knew I was always getting in trouble, so eventually I was gonna be there, but I think that experience just got me down. It just really matured me and opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. It actually made me want to get out and be focused. I think if I was out, I would've been way into some deeper stuff. That time was a time for me to realize and think about my life. Stuff like that.

That’s super interesting. I feel like those ages—what, 14 to 17?—it’s such a formative time.

Yeah for sure.

Who did you look up to in your early teens? Both musically and just in general?

Well, I was named after the singer Sade. I always looked up to her. I thought she was so cool. So that was musically. And I would actually say my mom. She was really strong as a person. There were seven of us, and she wasn’t raising us off of government assistance—just strictly off the hustle. I always appreciated her for that.

I feel like you’re known for your rap stylings. It’s very in your face. In your own words, how would you say what you do is different from your peers? How is your music bringing something new to the table?

Well, firstly, I’m able to tell stories and talk about experiences that are unique to me. They actually relate to a lot of people. In the game, so far, it ain’t nobody that’s talking from my standpoint. For instance, you have some that rap about stripping, some that rap about boys and love. I rap about everything, and I can get into details about real life situations that nobody really talks about. So I feel like with that alone, it’s different.

Secondly, my voice is already different. Even my ad libs and everything, I’m just unique. I feel like those are the main two things.

How do you approach writing music? You said it comes pretty naturally, but do you have any specific processes or rituals in the studio?

Well, I’m able to do two things. I’m able to freestyle—listen to the beat, then go in and punch in what I gotta say. And I’m also able to take notes. For instance, if I’m at home or something, a melody will just come into my head and I’ll put it on my voice recorder so I don’t forget it. It’s like music is in my head all day, literally. It’s weird. Melodies are always coming to me, and stuff I wanna say.

Is there anything in particular you’re inspired by right now? Any TV shows or other forms of media?

I’ve always been in my own head. I don't really watch TV. Honestly, what motivates and inspires me is my little brother. I just be watching him. He just inspires me a lot because I’ve seen him grow into the person he’s becoming. He’s the one putting me onto new music and stuff. He inspires me a lot because he’s strong.

You talked about Sade, but who else did you listen to growing up?

I listened to a lot of R&B. I was really into old school music because that’s all my mom played. I liked Mary J Blige. It’s crazy cause my music is totally opposite from her, but that’s who I like.

Yeah, your speaking voice and your demeanor seems more shy than your rap persona. Is that something people tell you all the time?

Yeah, they always say, “We’ve never seen this other side of her! She gets all crazy and stuff and has this savage street side, but you have this warm, cuddly side of you that nobody knows.” But yeah, a lot of people don’t know that about me.

Do you listen to anything that would be surprising to your fans? Any weird indie music or classical stuff?

I actually be liking pop music sometimes. I like a few Hannah Montana songs. I like “Party in the USA” a lot. I don’t be remembering the dang names of the songs. But yeah.

Hannah Montana had bops.

Yeah, she sure did.

Tell me about your new EP.

Basically, I had a tape done three days after I was signed. And I was waiting on the tape to be released. I didn’t understand the business side of music. I was used to, like, oh, let’s just drop it. So I started learning, oh I have to get this cleared, there’s a sample in this, this takes thirty days, stuff like that. So my fans were looking at me like, girl, what is going on? And I was like, I’m learning this like y’all! So I wanted to show them that, basically, I could pop back into my savage mode like how I started. So I did another few sessions and was done with the next tape. It was really raw and uncut. I wasn’t overthinking anything. That’s what this tape is.

What would you say is the main thing you’ve been realizing about going from being independent to being signed to a major label?

I pretty much noticed that everything requires extra approval. Like, with the beat samples and stuff. It’s just more of a bigger thing. When you’re independent, you don’t know all that stuff. Being signed, they want to give me every detail and make sure I’m straight. Ain’t no loopholes. They just make sure everything’s gonna go down good.

How much live performing did you do before quarantine hit?

I did a lot of it—school appearances, all types of stuff. I was really active. When COVID hit, I stopped accepting stuff like that for a minute. But I’m about to start back up because I’m moving back to LA, so I’ll be more active again.

Do you like East Coast or West Coast better?

Definitely West Coast. But I actually have been doing some club appearances on the East Coast, just random club appearances. But I definitely like West Coast better. The weather is way better.

How did quarantine affect you most?

They were gonna put me on a promotional tour, and I didn’t get to go on that. So I feel like that is an experience that got taken from me. I don’t know, I’m pretty much a home body, so that part didn’t affect me. I don’t like to see other people in big groups like that, so that was fine for me.

I remember that “Runway” was pretty big on Tik Tok. What are your thoughts on the app and how it influences the music industry?

I feel like my song was one of the first songs that actually went viral, so it showed everybody what Tik Tok was. When it went viral on there, I didn’t even know what it was, but I saw the power it had. I remember a lot of people were actually making fun of Tik Tok. A lot of people had something to say about it. It’s crazy because when COVID hit, now everybody is all about Tik Tok. I’m like, all these people had all this stuff to say about me, but I didn’t even start the “Runway” challenge! I didn’t even put my song on Tik Tok. It showed people that this is actually another route for music. So it was all good from then.

Yeah, it really was one of the first viral trends.

Definitely. So I see the good and bad side of it.

Now, Tik Tok is the first thing people think about.

Yeah, they do. When I was making the song, I wasn’t like, ‘Is this gonna be good on Tik Tok?’ Now a lot of artists I be around be like, “Oh, they’ll definitely love this on Tik Tok, it can become a Tik Tok dance!” I didn’t think about any of that.

What’s your favorite lyric you’ve written?

Honestly, when I said, “Sleepin’ on these cold floors made a bitch cold,” that was like a metaphor for my life, when I said that bar. So imma stick to that one. If you know, you know.

Are you working on anything right now? What’s in the works?

Currently, I’m finishing up the videos for this last tape. I’m doing the visuals for the tape that already dropped. And then, the next tape is in the works.

Anything else you wanna say to the world and to your fans?

I just wanna tell all my fans that I appreciate them, I love them for holding a real one down, you feel me? And yeah. Follow my Instagram, go listen to my new tape and tell me what y’all think.