Stony (rapper)
| Stony | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thorsteinn Baldvinsson |
| Born |
March 9, 1993 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | actor, rapper, singer, writer, record producer |
| Instruments | Bass, drums, guitar, synthesizer, sequencer, sampler, vocals |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Associated acts | Janelle Monae, Lionel Messi Lord kossity |
Þorsteinn (Thorsteinn) Sindri Baldvinsson (born March 9, 1993), better known by his stage name Stony, or STNY, is an actor, hip-hop artist, singer, drummer and producer. Well known for starring in Pepsi's new Now Is What You Make It commercial campaign.
Personal life and career
Stony was born in Iceland. His father, Baldvin, is an Icelandic baker and his mother, Deborah, a Spanish modeling agent. Stony graduated from Reykjavík College of Music with a degree in jazz drumming and music theory, as well as studying dramatic acting at Reykjavík School of the Arts. He previously attended Akureyri Junior College. While in school, Stony worked as a vendor at a hot-dog stand in downtown Akureyri, and because Akureyri is only home to about 20,000 people, he had a lot of free time at work. He used this time to write songs and raps. Growing up he wanted to become a rapper, and needed a rap name that would stick in people's heads. He went with Stony, which is a rough translation of the second part of his Icelandic name, Thorsteinn, "rock". Stony began drumming at an early age, starting with pots and pans at the age of 6[1] and receiving his first drum set as a Christmas present from his father. He then used his father's video camera to record videos of him and his friend playing music, which escalated to him uploading those videos to YouTube, under the channel name Stony's World. These videos caught the attention of Collegehumor, for whom he remixes videos under the name SteffComedy.[2] He has uploaded drum covers of, for example, Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend". His most popular video by far is a loop cover he did of Macklemore's "Can't Hold Us",[1] with more than a Million views as of May 2014. .[3]
Stony then went on to star in Pepsi's "Live For Now" commercial. Acting alongside Janelle Monae, Lionel Messi, David Luiz and more. The commercial aired in over a 100 countries and broke the record for largest-ever global campaign for soccer.[4]
Discography
- 2014: "Feel Good"
References
- 1 2 "Með yfir 500.000 'views' á Youtube", Monitor, Morgunblaðið, June 3, 2013 (Icelandic)
- ↑ Bergþora, "Ungur trommari í vinnu hjá Youtube", Lífið, Vísir, November 23, 2011 (Icelandic)
- ↑ "How To Cover A Macklemore Song Mainly By Slamming Doors", Buzzfeed, ', May 29, 2013 (English)
- ↑ "Pepsi Breaks Largest-Ever Global Campaign For Soccer" Adage, April 02, 2014 (English)