Stunna Girl Is Fresh Off The Runway & Ready To Release Her Mixtape
“Bitch, I look like I’m fresh off the runway,” is the line heard across 1,000 TikToks (actually, 3 Million, to be exact).
Stunna Girl, the mastermind behind the track, “Runway,” didn’t even have a TikTok when the song first started inspiring tons of transition videos.
Instead, the Sacramento-born rapper prefers scrolling on Instagram and free-styling her way through studio sessions. While her soon to be released mixtape wasn’t written with TikTok in mind, it does contain tons of freestyling from the 21-year-old rapper—and a sample from that early 2000’s song, “Crazy Frog” for a lil’ nostalgia.
We talked to Stunna Girl about her rise to fame, her signature high-pitched voice, TikTok haters, and more.
First, how did you come up with the name “Stunna Girl?”
I always stood out. A lot of people from the area I lived in called themselves “Stunna something,” but I was always “Stunna girl,” I was like the main girl.
So your friends called you that before?
Yeah.
Have you always rapped with a higher-pitched voice, or was this something that evolved later?
My first song I wasn’t using it, but then my second song I did. My voice is already squeaky, so I feel like it helps me get my point across.
Yeah your talking voice is pretty high-pitched too! It’s cute.
Yeah, it’s squeaky.
For most of your career, you didn’t have a manager or mentor, but after “Runway” went viral you suddenly had a team. How did that change your process?
Well it definitely makes it easier for me ‘cuz I can just concentrate on being an artist instead of having to juggle 50 things at once.
Right, because I feel like now being an artist means also doing social media and a bunch of other stuff, right?
Right.
Do you wish you had a team sooner or do you work better solo?
I feel like I’m neutral. I like that I was able to learn stuff by myself without being stupid.
We’ve sort of seen this shift in the music industry where artists are creating songs that seem to have TikTok in mind, but you said you were barely familiar with TikTok when “Runway” went viral. Do you feel like you’ve kept TikTok in mind more as you’ve written your mixtape?
Honestly, no. I don’t. I just do what I want. I feel like if I think about it too hard it’s going to mess me up, so I don’t think about it.
Right, especially because you weren’t thinking about it with “Runway” and it just popped off.
Yeah I wasn’t thinking about it the first time, so I’m like, “I don’t wanna do that now.” There’s all kinds of stuff going on there [on TikTok] now.
Do you have a favorite TikTok challenge?
I think the one I did recently, the “Buss It” challenge was nice. It wasn’t as complicated as I be thinking.
I feel like it’s always easier once you actually do it!
Right.
Have you gotten any backlash from people on TikTok?
Yeah, I just had my first experience with some of that. I was making this TikTok. I had a Puff Bar but I wasn’t really trying to smoke it. So [commenters] were like, “you’re not even inhaling it! Inhale it! Inhale it!” There were like 50 million comments saying, “inhale it.” It was funny though.
What’s your social media of choice?
Instagram. I like taking pictures and I like looking at Stories and stuff on the Explore Page. I find new places on the Explore page. I definitely find stores too. You know what’s kinda weird too? When you go on the internet and you type in something and then next thing you’re on Instagram and it’s on there, showing you where it’s at. I don’t know if that’s happened to you…
Yeah it’s also crazy because now we’re at the point where if someone tells me about a new store or restaurant, I don’t go to their website, I go to their Instagram.
Yeah it definitely tells you a lot!
You’ve said that you make music for girls like you to get up, get money, and get cute. What are some other songs or artists that you go-to when you’re in that vibe?
I listen to a lot of underground music, so I don’t know what to say.
You can put our readers onto something new!
I don’t know, my playlist is kind of all over the place. These days I be letting my little brother play music, and I be liking his music. I’m not sure exactly who he’s listening to, but I know it’s underground artists. That’s a bad answer, but that’s the truth.
Honestly I feel like finding new music is a job sometimes.
I just let them grab the aux and do what they do.
Is there another female rapper you’d love to collab with?
I like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, so both of them.
Do people ever compare you to PPCocaine?
Well they compare her to me, but she’s sweet. She gave me a shoutout and stuff and said I inspired her style. Her voice is definitely squeaky like mine, so that’s the similarity.
That’s cool that she cited you as her inspiration.
Yeah! Most people don’t do that. She always gives me shoutouts.
So you’re about to release your new mixtape, and have released the title track, “Still Smoke.” How did you choose to use a sample from that 2000’s hit “Crazy Frog” for the track?
Right. I didn’t even know where [my producer] got the sample, but I wrote this song about a year ago and the beat is super hype. It was a freestyle. He just put it on and I freestyled it.
That’s sick! Are any other songs on the mixtape freestyles?
Definitely. I think about half the tape. Cuz I can just go in the studio and they can play a beat and I’ll make that song right there without thinking about it. That’s how my first tape was too.
Do you find that when you try to write in advance it’s almost harder because you’re so used to free-styling?
Yeah it has gotten harder for me to write. I don’t know why, but it seems like it’s just better when I just go in there [and freestyle].
The initial lyrics to “Still Smoke” discuss a girl who’s fucked a bunch of dudes but is still broke, are you trying to inspire women to get in their bag instead of chasing men?
Definitely! Because where I grew up, girls used to brag about doing stuff with dudes but then it’s like, your car breaks down and he ain’t sending you a Cash App so what you running back for?
Okay, that is so true! Especially living out in LA there are so many girls bragging about fucking some rapper—
It’s out here [in New York] too! At least you need somebody to get you out of this situation. Like, “here’s a bar of soap to get that smell up off you!”
I totally agree. Which song are you most excited for your fans to hear and why?
At first I was most excited about “Ask About Me” but I’ve heard the song so much, so…I have a few favorites—no actually, I like a lot of them, but I would say “Ride” and “Catch Me At The Bank. I made “Catch Me At The Bank” about a year ago, but I just always liked the song because of how I was flowing on there. “Ride” is just a party song. My voice is lower on there, I was just talking, so I like both songs.
Hopefully we will be able to party soon so we can bump those out and about. How are you planning on riding out the rest of this weird COVID time?
I’ve been pretty bored. I’ve just been at my house. I’ve been planning on going to California ‘cuz it’s too cold out here.
You should! I feel like LA is honestly the best place to be during COVID.
At least there you can go outside and stuff.
I would definitely recommend it! So we’re super excited for your new mixtape, is there anything else up your sleeve for 2021?
I also have another mixtape that I did last year that I’m excited about. I believe it’s going to come out in April, I’m loaded up! I got a lot of good music on that mixtape too. I like both mixtapes.
