The first time I met STL, I admit I was busy trying to get at her and give her my number. Truth be told this is one sexy ass chile. HAIMATI (it doesn’t matter) what your definition of cute, hot or sexy is – trust me when you meet this chile face to face, there is something hot and sexy about her. Mahaga!! demeanor, approach, how she carries herself and most importantly her accent… But at the time she was too focused on having this conversation with Wawesh in Norwegian (that shit was too hot) I think the idea of a Kenyan speaking in some foreign language is just exotic… But I digress.
STL came to Kenya at the time (2004) trying to penetrate the local market, but truth be told she has never been Kenyan material or at any level or any standard Kenyan. Am just calling this as I see it now and its what I told her then. She tried putting a couple of hooks here and there with akina Kantai and a few other local acts but to me all these were meaningless attempts trying to get the local market to recognize her talents. The girl was too far in her game, there was no way we could put STL next to Ratatat or Lady S and compare them as one product. Nah!!! STL was and is a global brand – and she will always be. I’ve never met a Kenyan female artist who could flow like Stella (Stella Mwangi is her real name) apart from Nazizi… (and thats the old Nazizi, before she discovered roots and reggae).
GetMziki salutes you Stella, this single is hot, the packaging is hot and I believe the market is ready for you. The Video is also super hot! And I personally am just glad that you are back doing what you are good at – good rap, soulfull music – I don’t want to wake up either….
listen to STL’s Dreamer here:
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download the track here:
visit her Myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/stlmuzic
watch the video here:
poa kizee kwa kupost huyu manzi, she is talented. would you also post one of her songs called “she want” i think its on her myspace page if u cant get it tell me and i will send it to you.
once a gain thanx for posting dreamer. its a inspiring song
Stella is doing her thing. I dig this track and the video storyboard does justice to her message. Besides being a rising star she is also a motivation to all youth and young at heart. STL stay true to you and do your damn thing. Sucess will be the side-effect, some will hate but that’s life, burn that flame.
lotsa love Stella………i cant imagine she was inspired by the racism she endured while living majuu………..either way,Dreamer is a great song with an even greater video……i especially the track “livin for music” which reminds me of a Jay-z intro…..but pia “take it back”………FYRE
I’d like to comment on this based on my first impressions.
I mostly need to listen to a joint twice before I feel “qualified” to critique it but on this one, I feel I’m good to go just on take 1.
The track itself was intelligently put together by someone who obviously had the lyrical content in mind. The Dreamer, being a mild but inspirational poem, needed a similar track to complement it. Spanish guitar always add a silky, smooth feeling to a track that’s why Dr Dre has NEVER used it in his works, but blended with a straight-up R&B beat and a few other magical sounding instrumentation the result is what The Dreamer is all about.
STL sounds like the female Kantai but no offence about that y’all. It’s just that Kantai is the ONLY Kenyan MC who’s got the best diction and accent when rhyming in English. STL holds the forte in the female “English-speaking” department.
The content is mature, steering clear of the over-saturated field of romance, “makin-it-rain” and “ill-bust-yo-neck” contents. It’s a nice song but its NOT a club banger! Why? A Club banger is a song that people love to dance to without raising questions of education or inspiration etc. The Dreamer is a song people will want to sit and listen to, unless the instrumental is ripped and layered with P Units rhymes ha!ha!
So kudo’s STL because I see the level of overall excellence in your game, this track was definitely produced and recorded majuu. That’s something that we’re still warming up to. Somehow, we’d rather bump to a genge track like “Morale” {Pilipili} that’s got half the last chorus harmonies sang completely OFF KEY.
But is’ al’ gd. The industry standards are being raised kila siku!
Ok,I must agree that STL is good but I dont think she is excellent nor do i find her lyrics amazing.and I agree with gentelmanly who says she sounds like a female Kantai.The hook and the video made this song and I find it unfair that you would even try to compare her with local acts who have grown up in the hood and not had the overseas opportunity to showcase their talent. Yeah I said it. By opportunity i mean whether or not STL endured racism(which every black person has even in Kenya) the fact that she is in Norway has given her a big headstart over her Kenyan based counterparts who have to battle sexism to even get a record out.(The Kenyan music industry is very male dominated if you hadnt noticed from producers to vidoegraphers to music programme heads) STL may be miles ahead in terms of Kenya but internationally she has still got a lot more work to do. Good luck to her.
I like the song dreamer, the beat is a nice re-indition of Jay – z’s Dead Presidents II
Isn’t it ironical that some of the comments here are exactly what STL is singing/rapping about – the negativity from folks when u dream big? Am not saying you shouldn’t offer your opinion. But there’s a difference between negativity and constructive criticism. Reading through some of the responses here it sounds like it’s just criticism for the sake of criticism. So since she’s in Norway she should apologize? or shouldn’t be compared to Mejja or Juacali or Ogopa artists? just Estelle and Kanye and Keshia Cole? How do we expect out industry to grow when we ask that some of our artists not be held to international standards? And arguing that since u live in Norway you never encountered racism and sexism is just absurd. Anyways on to the song now.
I love the song. The video is just icing on the cake. I’ve seen way too many Kenyan songs get bogged down by shoddy videos (anyone remember the song “Fever” – from way back – best example in mind right now).It’s an uplifting song, simple and creative as well. And the hook is well done. I say a good 8 out of 10 from me. Gentlemanly is right – it’s not a club banger – but it’s certainly an award worthy track if u ask me.
wow i like her picture,the jewels look good
Eish! TK read through to get it right before calling anyone who doesnt feel a song a hater. I said STL should not be compared to Kenyan female rappers as if they have had the same opportunities.Whether we like it or not majority of Kenyan artistes have not fikad international standards. STL has that polish but she is not locally produced or marketed hence she should be looking at other international acts doing the same thing. And according to me, she may be superior locally but avarege internationally, I havent seen anything that hasnt been done before.Like i said Good luck to her.
ya’ll got some deeply thought comments. way I see it and call me a dreamer if you may but stella’s gonna be yuge soonest! just needs the right kind of exposure then we’ll have Obama present her with the grammy for sure (jk)
lyrics + beat = kool harmony which make the track dope.
[...] STELLA // Big ups my ipod has a folder called ‘Stella My Love’ – where I rotate “The Dreamer” its on cruise control. So that song taught me to keep aiming and keep wishing – so am still [...]
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