True bromance: When Ntate Stunna met Yanga Chief

A fine bromance was immediately born when rappers Yanga Chief and Ntate Stunna worked on one of the most culturally influential and aesthetically significant campaigns of the year.

Last month, the duo made their mark teaming up with Castle Milk Stout, aka Inkunzi Emnyama, for the AfriKaraoke campaign; fusing music, heritage and culture. The same month, a docu-series starring the two saw them reconnect with their heritage and culture by travelling to their ancestral homes to retrace their roots.

AfriKaraoke revives the spirit of learning the lyrics to our traditional songs. To preserve and celebrate the rich heritage of these songs, the brand has compiled a long list of lyrics for these traditional songs for easy access on their official website.

For SMag's latest digital cover, Ntate Stunna and Yanga Chief bond over childhood memories, preserving their culture and more.

What are your fondest childhood memories?

Ntate Stunna: My birthplace in Lesotho was more of a rural area but I went to school in the urban area of Maseru. When the school closed, I’d go back home and play in the mountains – these two worlds shaped who I am. I would listen to hip-hop and immerse myself in the culture when I was at school but when I’d go back home, I’d be herding cattle with the local boys. I enjoyed Christmas the most and the games we played brought inner joy.

Yanga Chief: Playing any sports with my older brother. I used to be obsessed with the guy. We are nine months apart, so you can imagine the fun we had. I used to enjoy herding cattle in the open field and how in tune we were with nature.

What childhood stories are you replaying today?

Ntate Stunna: My grandparents used to tell us tales we call ditshomo tsa Basotho (folktales), meaning a story with a lesson. We were usually told these stories at night. These stories were mainly about animals and how they would behave with one another – somehow a lesson would be derived from them. I used to love the tale about Tselane, which was used to reprimand us about dodgy characters.

Yanga Chief: My grandmother was a storyteller and heavily into choral music. She was so much into faith, that she would pray for close to an hour, she never ran out of things to say. The stories she used to tell were about morals and how we had to conduct ourselves in the outside world – it’s a pity I don’t remember these stories.

What was your favourite meal growing up?

Yanga Chief: Grilled corn on the cob will always hold my heart. I’m still a huge fan of tripe and lots of meat.

Ntate Stunna: To this day, I love phuthu and fermented milk, if possible, this is all I would eat.

Which games did you enjoy playing?

Yanga Chief: I loved wrestling and cricket. I’m left-handed but my brother taught me how to use the bat right-handed. Whenever we’d play indigenous games, cherokee marbles were the go-to for us but hide-and-seek was elite, always.

Ntate Stunna: Stick-fighting was my thing. I was very good at it.

What is your go-to AfriKaraoke song?

Ntate Stunna: Definitely Seanamarena (Kobo Ya Thuto). I’ve fallen in love with this song since being part of this campaign. Going back home doing my research was an eye-opening experience. I got to learn more about my heritage and see how our songs and culture are being preserved. Seanamarena is a royal blanket and if people see you wearing it, they watch it with admiration, this is why everyone wants to wear one – they too want to feel esteemed like royalty.

Yanga Chief: You can never go wrong by playing Mafikizolo’s Emlanjeni. They used to release hits around December and most of their songs hold so much nostalgia.