ENNY: PENG BLACK GIRLS
ENNY is a rap artist from London, who, in a couple of years, has connected with her audience by providing provoking and emotionally poignant work about her lived experience as a woman of color. While ENNY was born and raised in England, she has Nigerian heritage, and that in itself presented countless challenges in her life in a predominantly white populace.
Her track Peng Black Girls perfectly encapsulates this experience, highlighting specifically this false and rather offensive dichotomy between beauty and being black in mainstream media and public discourse. It is tackled in a rather subtle way while also providing examples and imagery for the listeners to try and understand a vital point.
In an article with the Guardian, ENNY talked about this song and how important it is to communicate to other black women that they are beautiful. She explained that it was an adjective that was not used for black women as frequently as it should be. Her point was even clearer when she discussed the responses she received from fans after her song’s release. According to her, many of her fans who were black girls explained how they felt “ugly,” but this song helped change that by making them see themselves as beautiful.
It is, thus, evident that ENNY’s music has made a positive impact on the lives of listeners in different parts of the world. In fact, this song is what brought her fame. The established star Jorja Smith discovered ENNY and signed her on her label FAMM, which led to the release of this hit. The remix of this song and the original are the artist’s most popular releases, which also have the most plays. In the little time, she has spent in the music industry, she has garnered over 34 million plays on these two versions of the same song on Spotify, and her monthly listeners are at nearly a million.
While she may be a newcomer to this growing and expansive industry, her work showcases a level of refinement and genuineness that are typically present in seasoned songwriters. A lot of that has to do with the fact that she has been making music since she was a child. Belonging to a family that loved and appreciated this art form, she was encouraged to explore the possibilities of creative expression with music. Her father also taught her how to play the keyboard, which eventually helped her write songs. Her family’s contribution, alongside that from one of her dearest friends, helped shape the music she writes and performs today.
ENNY has become a commendable act within the contemporary UK rap sphere, and deservingly so. Time and time again, she has convinced her listeners that she has the ability to address complex topics with grace and positive undertones, helping others see a point of view that they may not have thought of originally. That feat is remarkable for any artist, and it only makes us listeners want even more work from her in the near future.
