Beyond his love for music, Stunna on Tha Track, Nigerian DJ and producer in the UK, had, early on, always been curious about how music was made. Born Emmanuel Teibo, he also wanted to make music too. His inspiration to actually pursue making music was stoked during his days as an undergraduate at Houdegbe North American University, Benin, after he heard the album Souled Out by Jhene Aiko.
He resonated with the album and it helped him through his life in school in navigating social life and providing him great company besides friends, until a friend taught him how to use an online software to make beats. He became enthusiastic after some time working it; then went to music school at Ten Strings Music Institute, Ikeja, where he learnt how to record and mix vocals. Since then, he has collaborated with a number of musicians.
Stunna’s work as a producer follows the trail of his Nigerian forebears like Sarz and Pheelz, or international producers such as DJ Khaled and David Guetta, who make their music by providing beats but getting other artists to voice on it. He works with a lot of underground and up-and-coming artists. As he promotes his craft, he works to elevate theirs as well.
Spanning 11 minutes, his latest EP is a house album titled Elements, containing four tracks titled earth, water, air, and fire, which try to imitate the elements they are named after.
The first song “Earth” begins with an easygoing melody that gives way to a steady loop which alternates as the groove rises. This is deliberate because of all four elements, earth is the most grounded and most stable. “Water” begins with a hypnotic chord, takes you in immediately with the vocals, “Don’t wanna fall into your hands again / Don’t wanna give you everything I have and see you walk away,” followed by a mood-accelerating bridge.
“Air,” with a great bop-y feel, invokes motion. Its effect in a party setting would be like transforming the party into a moving vehicle, with excited partygoers breezing through its groove. The last song, though titled “Fire,” is not as fiery as one imagines, but it wraps up the project neatly as a fiery one; an EP intense and hypnotic as expected of any good house music.
Besides house genre, Stunna on Tha Track’s work encompasses hip hop, Afrobeats, and alternative. He has worked with a list of musicians including the rappers Neduthegoat, Shabbazz, Jabba 24k, and the crooner, Fosa. Doing so, Stunna on Tha Track has produced more than a dozen songs via collaborations; and with every artist he collaborates with, his artistry assumes a new form.
With Neduthegoat, he is in his hip hop mode with a blend of Trap: on a song, “Thanking God,” featuring another rapper, Jaiye, there is a subtle nod to Lil Durk’s “All my Life.” As with the latter, which is evangelic, “Thanking God,” which has that holiday or vacation vibe, passes as a meditation on positivity and gratitude to life.
In his collaborations with Jabba24k, Stunna’s skills as a good producer of drill music is in full glare. However, the work is not done yet. There is great need for improvement from both Stunna and the music he makes with his artists, especially with hip hop and Afrobeats. It is not out of place to expect that a rapper like Neduthegoat should improve in lyricism. There is also work to be done in perfecting harmony between the singers and production.
With Elements, Stunna on Tha Track recalls African American producer and sound engineer, Nektunez, known for alté, who had a similar project Mystic House in 2024; although the latter leans more into blending Amapiano with house. The house genre is nothing new in the Afrobeats scene, but Stunna on Tha Track brings his own uniqueness to it, which is what makes him interesting.♦
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera is the author of Loss Is An Aftertatse of Memories. His essays have been published in The Republic, Afapinen, and Open Country Magazine, among others.