Rapper Stella Mwangi aka STL has had a very successful 2018 after a long and rather frustrating push to penetrate the Hollywood market.
This year has seen STL’s songs used in a worldwide campaign for Samsung, featured on HBO’s “Insecure” and BET’s “Being Mary Jane” and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger’s runways.
Still, she hopes for more and won’t settle.
She recently spoke with Daily Nation and shared her dream collabos, which she hopes to work with American rappers Nicki Minaj and Lady of Rage at one point in her career.
“I would love to do something with Will.i.am and Dr Dre. My dream is to do an album with Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliot, and probably remix a song by Salt n Pepper, Queen Latifah, Remy Ma, and Lady of Rage,” she said.
“I have known Wyclef Jean since I was 14 and he has been a big part of my musical journey. We have talked about a collabo but it has never really worked out. Then there are guys like Akon who are also doing great things for Africa. In July, we actually met at a concert in France and he later called to tell me that he loved my performance.”
Locally, Nazizi tops her list and newer faces like rapper Shiko Femi One have been on her mind.
“In Kenya, I would love to do something with Nazizi. She was the first Kenyan female rapper I heard of. I would also love to do something with some of the new acts like Femi One.” she said in the interview.
STL was a trending topic a few weeks ago after American actor Dwayne Johnson aka “The Rock” sent her a shout out on social media.
STL, whose song was featured on Ballers series which stars Johnson, impressed the former wrestler with a punchline that included his name.
STL expected a shout out, yes, though not from him.
“I was actually expecting a shout out from Tommy Hilfiger,” she said.
“He has used two of my songs on repeat on his runways and has reached out to me privately. Getting it from “The Rock” was really overwhelming, it just shows how humble he is. In Hollywood, celebrities typically associate with people at their level yet he put me on his platforms.
“When we were recording the song about two years ago we actually joked with my producers, “What if The Rock actually recognised us for putting his name in the lyrics?”
