When raised in a household filled with love and ultimately taught that it must be shared freely, it’s only natural to embrace a life that speaks to and radiates love in every way. And that’s exactly who Una Rams is—through his soulful music, his unwavering passions, and the gentle yet intentional way he carries himself.
Jumping on a call with him, I wasn’t sure what to expect—a feeling that can bring a few nerves. But the muso, real name Unarine Rambani, speaks with such warmth and ease that any tension immediately melts away.
In that moment, I encountered the true embodiment of love—effortlessly radiating it in everything he does.
“And I guess in my own experience in life, I’ve just seen that it’s truly all we have and what connects us as human beings; just having consideration from the next person makes life a lot more bearable. So to be able to, I guess, translate that into musical form, where you find that people can escape from their problems and experience something so beautiful that moves them becomes a gift in itself,” he said.
Raised in Limpopo’s Makwarela, Una Rams grew up in a home led by preacher parents, where the expectation was that he would follow in their footsteps. However, he always knew he would spread his message in his own way—through music, using his voice to inspire and uplift.
Balancing his passion with a full-time job, Una jokingly labels himself as the black male, Hannah Montana, being a software developer by day and a muso by night.
With music, he has steadily carved out his space in the industry by delivering his signature dose of love through music. His latest release, ‘ndi a mufuna’, dropped in February and has already garnered over 130 000 views in just a month—proof that his message is reaching hearts far and wide.
“I’ve always wanted to make music that lasts for generations and can be passed down to generations. I imagine people traveling through galaxies on spaceships, and there’s a family there, and someone’s like, ‘Oh, have you heard of Una Rams?’ and they play my music,” an analogy that speaks to his very imaginative brain that was cultivated by his extreme love for cartoons while growing up.
“That’s how far I’m seeing this music go,” he added.
The singer/songwriter is gearing up to release his debut album, which is preceded by two EP releases since the start of his career. Two very important projects that laid a crucial foundation to where he finds himself right now.
“Getting to even say an album is surreal because at some point in my career, I felt like that’s something I’d never do due to how our consuming patterns have changed. But one thing is, a single feels like a caption on Instagram and an album feels like an essay, and I love long-winded explanations,” he said, laughing.
“I think a lot of projects in the past have, I guess, been more reflective or hopeful and trying to manifest something in the future. And at this point, this project feels like it’s speaking to the now. I’ve always said, I want to grow with my audience; I want my music to be like the soundtrack to the rom-com that is life.”
The single, Ndi A Mufuna, is a love letter to his wife; speaking to where he is right now in life is reflective of what fans can expect in the album ‘meet me at the altar’.
“The album took me a couple of years to make because there are songs from 2017 on there, which is weird because I spoke on manifesting or how some songs feel like manifestations of a future. So it really hit 10 times harder when we played these songs back and selected them and felt like, ‘Whoa, this is speaking to my life now’. Which made me want to write songs that say, ‘I’m so grateful I have this billion dollars’,” he said before bursting into laughter.
“It’s just so beautiful to see how life unravels, and it’s keeping me hopeful on what will happen next,” adding that the album will have a good 12 tracks, keeping it traditional and are aiming to release in April.
Even with a steady career, music has always been a companion to him, from as early as he could remember, from when his mother and older brother participated in a church choir at the Salvations Army, and he was too young and short to participate but forced his way in, even dragging a cool-drink case so he could stand on it.
The older brothers got into writing music, which led to them forming a boy band, and that’s where he got introduced to writing music for himself and became a great way of expressing his feelings. Even with one worst performance that left them embarrassed, they still didn’t give up on music.
“It’s in high school that I start making full songs, and the first ever song I ever posted (on a streaming platform) got about 800 downloads, and I remember showing my parents. They promised to support me, with the promise of doing well at school,” which led him to quickly learn how to prioritise his free time, sharing it between school and this budding passion.
As Una Rams steps into this new chapter with ‘meet me at the altar’, he continues to prove that his music is more than just sound—it’s a heartfelt expression of love, faith, and purpose. With each song, he invites listeners into his world, one filled with deep emotion, meaningful connections, and a timeless message that love will always lead the way. And if his journey so far is anything to go by, this is only the beginning of a legacy that will resonate for generations to come.
