Genres Hip hop music Role Rapper | Website www.stony.is Years active 2011–present | |
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Name Thorsteinn Blyden Born March 9, 1993 (age 31) Reykjavik, Iceland ( 1993-03-09 ) Occupation(s) rapper, singer, writer, record producer Instruments Bass, drums, guitar, synthesizer, sequencer, sampler, vocals Associated acts Janelle Monae, Lionel Messi | ||
Birth name Thorsteinn Baldvinsson | ||
Thorsteinn Sindri Baldvinsson Blyden, better known by his stage name Stony Blyden or STNY, is an Icelandic actor, rapper, singer, drummer and producer.
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Life
Stony was born in Akureyri, Iceland. His father, Baldvin, is an Icelandic baker and his mother, Deborah, a Cuban fitness instructor. Stony began drumming at an early age, starting with pots and pans at the age of 6 and receiving his first drum set as a Christmas present from his father. 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.
Career
For his musical artist name, he went with Stony, which is a rough translation of the second part of his Icelandic name, Thorsteinn, "rock". Using a camera he borrowed from his father he started filming him and his friends covering various songs. He then went on to upload his own drum covers to YouTube under the name Stony’s World. His most popular video by far, with well over a million views, is a loop cover he did of Macklemore's "Can't Hold Us", with more than a Million views as of May 2014. The video caught the eye of Pepsi and a year later, in 2014, he was brought on to star alongside Janelle Monáe, Lionel Messi and more in Pepsi's 2014 "Now Is What You Make It" World Cup campaign. The commercial was based on Stony's Macklemore cover. Starting in 2012, he also made songs by remixing sketch comedy videos from Collegehumor, using the moniker SteffComedy.
As an actor, Stony has been featured in such films such as The Standoff and Hope Springs Eternal, as well as the Hulu television series Casual. He stars in the 2017 Nickelodeon television series Hunter Street.