Five years after his breakthrough with the cross-continental hit, “Adiwele,” South African singer, Young Stunna, has come to terms with the good and bad aspects of the music industry. “The music business introduces you to a lot of things and a lot of people,” he tells Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. “So, if something is bad, I’m just gonna run away from it. If something is good, I’m just gonna accept it because that’s what’s happening around us. I’m just aware of my surroundings as well. I just know how to navigate this life thing. It’s a must that you take care of yourself spiritually, mentally, and physically.”

Part of the way he’s taking care of himself is recentering his journey with music and offering thanks for how far he’s come. His sophomore album, ‘Busisiwe,’ is at once a palate cleanser and a document of thanksgiving. Inspired by his great-grandmother, the singer is painting vignettes of the cost of success and on “BALINDE” and casting away the things bothering him on “ASIVUKE.” Still, across the 16 songs of  ‘Busisiwe,’ Young Stunna never lets the groove die, reminidng us of his status as one of South African music’s most-propulsive forces. 

“‘Busisiwe’ is full of life and energy,” he says. “So, whether you need a love song for it, you’re there. Whether you need a sad song, I got you. Whether you need an energy song for the club, I got you. Whether you need a spiritual song to lift your mood up, I have you. ‘Busisiwe’ accommodates everyone.”

This conversation has been edited for clarity. 

What’s the significance of  ‘Busiswe,’ your album title? 

‘Busisiwe’ is my great-grandmother’s name. She supported my career so much, and I feel like she’d be celebrating with me right now. She’d be breaking a leg. I know she’s breaking a leg up in heaven, but  Imiss her so much, and she needed to be here to see me bloom because she always supported me. Whether it was the small gigs or whether I needed to go to the studio somewhere. Not a lot of family members actually support the dream. This album comes from her name because I feel like I’m celebrating everything she manifested for me in her prayers. She prayed for me a lot. It comes from her name and just me celebrating everything that I’ve gone through, the good and the bad. The bad taught me a lot, and the good made me work a lot. 

What’s it like trying out new looks to mark new chapters and seasons?

I’m glad that is visible because I feel like my music should come with a visual story. Like, you should show us something more than you singing for us and then you’re just telling us a lot of things in your songs. I like being confident in everything that I do. With changing the hair, from the hairstyles to the characters, I can go five full characters a year. I actually style myself for everything. I don’t have a stylist. I’ve never worked with a stylist. For four or five years, I’ve been styling myself for every gig, every performance, and every music video.  I feel like fans need to see a lot of things more than the music. They listen to the music, and then they get inspired, but they wanna know more about us. Obviously, we can’t let them know the personal and deep inside, but let’s show them what we can because they need to. 

How did you make  “ASIVUKE?”

“ASIVUKE” with Njelic is special to me. When I made that song, I was actually not good, like health-wise. I was working a lot, and then my dad called me to the studio like, ” I want you to work on a song with Njelic.” I think my dad was working on a project with Njelic, and then he called me to the studio. Then he started playing that beat. All the lyrics that came out were off, and I needed to get myself up. I needed to write something that would get me up. I needed to get myself back to the stories, to the experiences. “ASIVUKE” means get up and do something. Though I was tired, I had gigs I didn’t wanna cancel. That was motivation for me, like, “Boy, get up because you got work to do.”  When I gave Njelic the whole lyrics, he just fell in love with it, and we came out with a beautiful piece.  It’s actually gonna get people up; it’s actually gonna inspire a lot of lives. It’s gonna heal a lot of people. 

How do you practice discernment?

The music business introduces you to a lot of things and a lot of people. So, if something is bad, I’m just gonna run away from it. If something is good, I’m just gonna accept it because that’s what’s happening around us. I’m just aware of my surroundings as well. I just know how to navigate this life thing. It’s a must that you take care of yourself spiritually, mentally, and physically. Prepare for everything that’s gonna come and go. “AMANXEBA” is all about that.  It’s just me accepting my scars.  It’s just like this scar is just on me forever. It’s just like I can’t change it, and I don’t wanna change this about life. I can just navigate through it. Let me just accept what I have right now.

What inspired “UMSHINI?”

It’s just like nothing can stop me now. I was actually feeling good when we recorded “UMSHINI.” My dad was like, “Boy, you gotta remind them who you are.” I was like, “Yeah?”  He was like, “Yes. Actually, remind them.” I’m just reminding myself who I am too, because there are times when people are just ganging up on you, and you just feel like, “Damn, am I not enough?” Or “Is there something I’m doing wrong?” Every day I wake up and try. I wake up and try. Sometimes, I’m just not strong enough to accept the negative. But when I go back to the studio, I just have to remind them of that way. This is who you are on the song, so go out there and show them. 

What’s it like working with SLY?

That’s my brother.  I love that brother. He gets me; he gets my sound. SLY is the one who took “BALINDE” and turned it into a hip hop song. It was a full ‘piano song. Well, almost all the songs there were for ‘piano. Then he said, “Nah, we don’t have to go ‘piano all the time.”  He’s a versatile producer. He can just literally turn any song into anything. So if you bring an R&B song, we can turn it into a piano song. What a talent. I feel like SLY, and I connect the best in the studio.

How life-changing do you think this album is?

It’s literally gonna change you. It’s gonna make you cry, it’s gonna make you dance, and it’s gonna make you laugh. ‘Busisiwe’ is full of life and energy. So, whether you need a love song for it, you’re there. Whether you need a sad song, I got you. Whether you need an energy song for the club, I got you. Whether you need a spiritual song to lift your mood up, I have you. ‘Busisiwe’ accommodates everyone.