Eno Barony is a Ghanian hip-hop artist known for her rapping and song-writing talents. Barony was first launched into the limelight after her song “Tonga” was widely listened to. Highly regarded in the hip-hop community, Eno has won several awards and headlined many Ghanaian hip-hop festivals.
Notably, Barony is also known for uplifting the voices of women in hip-hop. Rather than being intimidated by the male-dominated hip-hop scene, she confronts it head on with powerful performances demonstrating her skills. As demonstrated in her interview on Showbiz Agenda, Barony wants to be accepted as a rapper, not a “female rapper” because it is limiting and creates a separation from women in the hip-hop scene.
One of the ways Barony confronts the inequities between men and women in hip-hop is through braggadocio. According to Msia KIbona Clark in Hip-Hop in Africa, braggadocio is a “key element in hip-hop lyricism” that is rooted in bragging abbout oneself to demonstrate their skills–either relating to hip-hop or something seemingly unrelated that actually further proves their dominance in the hip-hop scene (Clark 120). Eno Barony envokes braggadocio in her song “Mind Your Business”.
Throughout the video, Eno Barony invokes imagery of success, largely defined by her level of financial comfort. She talks about takng care of her family’s financial needs as well as “flexin” on others for having plenty of money. This imagry of success and wealth is one of the ways that Barony is establishing her dominance as a hip-hop artist.
Barony is also using braggadocio to show the power of many women in her community. The music video depicts women who are strong, powerful, and confident. Thus, not only is Barony using braggadocio to bolster her image as a hip-hop artist, but also using it to bolster the women around her to combat misogyny and typical views of women as inferior or weak.
In addition to Barony’s song “Mind Your Business”, she also includes women empowerment in her song “Heavy Load” where she celebrates women whose bodies are often shamed or demonized for not fitting into the typical beauty standard prescribed by society. You can find “Heavy Load” and more of Eno Barony’s music here.