Feature: Baltimore’s Hunit Stackz overcomes his rough upbringing to prosper musically

Published

3 years ago

May 2, 2021

Hunit Stackz has been making noise for over a decade in his hometown. The Baltimore-born and raised recording artist has been a standout who is well respected in his city. It was his experiences growing up in this town – living in the hood, escaping his childhood reality with anime – that have been as much an influence in his music as his original inspiration: DMX and the LOX.

Stackz found his love for rapping one day when some of his friends were having a cypher in the living room. He jokingly jumped in, but his friends were serious about how good he was. From then on, Stackz’s main goal in life was to be an artist. He released his first project, F**k it – which was later changed to self-titled – in 2011. He quickly garnered attention from some very credible industry names as well as press mentions.

His love for music eventually dimmed when he realized things were becoming repetitive and recording no longer seemed fun. That changed, however, while attending the film release of a new Dragon Ball Super movie. Stackz was excited to see how much the anime community had grown. It was at that moment, surrounded by mobs of people who loved what he loved, he decided to incorporate his first love – anime – into his music. This is how his album/manga series The Black Saiyan Saga was born.

Anime was Stackz’s escape as a kid. From as early as 6 years old, his childhood was fraught with traumatic events. His home was riddled with bullets while he hid under the bed in his mother’s arms. He watched his father appear on America’s Most Wanted before being imprisoned for life, and his wonderful weekends with his grandmother changed when her house was hit by a Molotov cocktail.

Watching anime as a child was a way to block out his reality and live somewhere else in his mind. At one point he was ashamed because it wasn’t cool in his neighborhood to be into anime. Fast forward to today, and Stackz is embracing it and it is adding new wind to his recordings. He found viral success with the Naruto-inspired rap song iTachi with protégé Detox The Kid, which racked up more than 9 million streams and more than 120,000 TikTok videos.

At this point in his career, Hunit Stackz is benefiting from the success of the hit single iTachi and the more recent release Bounce, which is a more New Orleans Bounce type of record. Stackz is a huge fan of the New Orleans sound and created this tune in homage to all the dope artists from N.O. that he feels gets overlooked.

Stackz was intent on working with New Orleans natives for the recently-released dance video, which is a collaborative effort with Anthony ‘AJ Twerks’ Jackson, a choreographer from New Orleans. The video also features New Orleans native dancer Diamond Lynn. Stackz has taken in a wealth of knowledge over the years and turned it into his own independent label, Saiyan Music Regime. Fans can expect a new merch line and several music releases this summer. Hunit Stackz is not letting time judge his music career at all. Just like his latest record, he is always going to bounce back and return stronger than ever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX1iLxhJiqs

Videos

Blast Off “44ever” With @Logic301

Published

15 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Big C

Logic has lyrical talent out of this world! Pack up your space suit because Logic is taking 15 of his day one fans on an interstellar trip with the release of 44ever. Shot on the spaceship set of the Aquarius III, music video directors Clemente and Henry Smisek highlights two scientists as crew members Dr. Moogega Cooper and Dr. Aniali Tripathi. In a first of its kind collaboration, Logic has partnered with LabX – a program of the National Academy of Sciences, launching LabX’s new initiative called LabX Out Loud. In preparation for the release of his ninth studio album Ultra 85, stream your copy of the single here. Watch the official video below and follow Logic on INSTAGRAM, TIK TOK, X, FACEBOOK, and YOUTUBE.

Audio

Skilla Baby Teases New Project With “Free Big Meech”

Published

18 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Big C

Save the date because April 26 comes the latest project The Coldest. Skilla Baby is poised for the announcement by unveiling a brand new single Free Big Meech. Produced by MIA JayC and Lee Choppn, this single hinges on tense synths and punchy 808s, while Skilla Baby unleashes a vital verbal flurry. Paving a lane to the forefront of the game at high-speed, rising Detroit rapper spoke on the project:

I took my time to put this project together… Sometimes, I feel like people try to place me in a box. The pressure of being a new artist, being successful, staying disciplined, and still clocking into the studio is very strenuous. But fun at the same time. As an artist, I’m known as the “Girl’s guy”. But I’ll never forget I come from the streets. As a real person, I feel so many emotions (mad, sad, happy, anxious, etc.). I say that to say, sorry for the wait but I wanted to put everything I feel into one project. Grab your coats…

Next up, the Vultures Eat The Most Tour takes him across the country on his most extensive jaunt yet. He also joins forces with New Orleans heavy-hitter Rob49 to co-headline the tour with tickets available here. This year is gearing up to be the coldest yet so pre-order your copy of the project here. Stream the official audio below and connect with Skilla Baby 0n Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Videos

“Wake Up” With Young Franco & Master Peace

Published

19 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Big C

It’s harder to wake up when you have mundane ish to do. Unveiling a brand new music video, Young France recruits UK Indie sensation Master Peace for huge new track Wake Up. Life becomes easier when you’re on the path to becoming a rockstar. The music video, shot in the UK, follows Young Franco and Master Peace individually, through a first-person lens as they undertake “mundane” daily activities until they then meet and begin to enjoy the iconic streets and taxis of London together. Franco spoke on the track:

Working with Master Peace has been an amazing experience. I found out about his project via his record “Eyes on You” and have wanted to work with him since that moment. I was writing a bunch of tracks in 2020. One of them being an early version of Wake Up, which I wrote with Elliot from Delta Riggs. I connected with Master Peace online and once I got to London last year, we smashed this in a couple of hours. His new record is fantastic and I’m super excited how this one turned out. Special mention to Danio from Husky Loops for some added production too.

Young Franco has started 2024 off with a bang, where he teamed up with UK rapper S1mba for the release of the funk laid hip hop track HITA. Wake Up follows a busy year of touring already, where he has done a sold out run of Europe with a string of sold-out shows in the USA. Young Franco has accumulated over 200 million streams and plans to continue to put Astralwerks Records on the map. Stream your copy of the single here and watch the dreamlike visual below. Stay connected with Young Franco on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.