In her latest single, “Heavy Load”, Eno Barony advocates for body positivity and fights fatphobia. The heavily anticipated track was made by twin producers, B2.
The emcee uses the title of the song as a metaphor for the bodies of women who are considered overweight by societal standards in Ghana. She encourages these women to follow her in apologetic self-love and “waive your heavy load!”
The album artwork for the single features four curvy women sporting light coloured bodysuits. Their bright-coloured outfits is a further statement against body shaming and policing, as curvier women are often shamed for wearing bright clothing and encouraged to wear slimming black.
Released on Feb. 25, the song has inspired a spur of people to post videos of themselves dancing to the song, many of whom are women who identify with the hashtag #HeavyLoad. Boasting over 22,000 followers on Twitter, the self-named #KingofQueens has retweeted and liked many of these videos on her timeline.
Eno Barony emulates the braggadocio common among rappers in her lyrics. Her self-confidence and aggressive delivery of lyrics counters the narrative that female emcees cannot compete with their male counterpart.
Her lyricism includes clever one liners such as, “I no be pen. I no be pencil, but I go draw your attention.”
In lines such as this, Eno Barony fights the narrative that women should aspire to a slimmer beauty expectation imposed on women around the world. Much of the song’s popularity on Twitter is owed, not just to her strong delivery and upbeat track, but also to the social message it carries with it.
In a 7-minute interview on The Big Show on Class 91.3, Eno Barony discussed her battle with self-confidence and the social impact she hopes this song has. She explains that becoming a public figure has led her to be attacked for her size and encouraged to lose weight. She says that, although this never affected her confidence in her artistic abilities, it made her self-conscious making red carpet appearances.
“Heavy Load is a song that I wrote for girls like me or girls who are heavier than me…to love yourself and believe in yourself.”