I sought refuge in music after sudden family neglect – StanVanDam

Talented Ghanaian musician, Stanley Kuleke, known on stage as StanVanDam has shared his ordeal in pursuit of realizing his dream of becoming a top musician.

According to the music prodigy, he decided to venture into music after his parents kicked him out of the house, adding that he gradually found solace in music.

Born in New Jersey, StanVanDam revealed that he was raised in Teshie, a suburb of Accra, by his grandmother but moved to Atlanta at the age of 12 to stay with his mum.

He added that he later found it difficult to fit in his new surroundings and often got into trouble at school.

“My mom got tired of it and kicked me out of her house in my early teenage years. I had to man up quickly and figure things out for myself. Music was always a go-to whenever I needed to escape reality," StanVanDam said.

“So, I found my passion for music when I discovered my love for hip-hop music back in 2008. I used to listen to many different artistes, my favourite being Lil Wayne at the time. I was amazed by his sound and how incredibly intellectual he was in his music,” he stated.

He further revealed that he discovered love for Afrobeats after a friend introduced him to the genre and was mesmerized with how unique it sounded.

“I quickly became obsessed with Afrobeat and decided to take that path in my music career. I still occasionally hop on a hip hop track and kill it but spitting on an Afrobeat track just felt much different to me,” he said.

StanVanDam also indicated that the ultimate goal is to see people of different backgrounds come together and enjoy the work he puts out.”