In a world where female rappers are expected to showcase themselves and their art more provocatively, these women sell by sharing pieces of themselves with their audience and connecting to what makes them who they are. Connecting to their identity as Africans and as women makes their art more impactful, but it is essential to see why each song in the playlist reaches this goal.
The first song, Peng Black Girls by ENNY ft. Amia Brave, is a reminder to all the black girls, wherever they are in the world, that they are beautiful the way they were created. Each black woman should be proud of their features and the way it separates us from others. From our facial features to our hair, black women are often scrutinized, hypersexualized, and villainized within pop culture and society. The song serving as an ode to black women is reassuring, as it doesn’t perpetuate any negativity or violence, and also serves as an ode to the black women who came before us. The multiple facets of beauty and energy that black women offer are something that should be appreciated, and this song is a great way to begin, and to remind ourselves that we are “Peng Black Girls”.
The song that follows, Point and Kill by Little Simz, is a declaration of her power. I found this song to be powerful because she has such a strong sense of certainty in her voice, and her lyrics as well. She makes this declaration “I do what I want, I do as I like/I no watch face, I fear nobody, nobody”, to let everyone know that the fear that is supposed to be present or that is expected of her as a woman. Whatever fear, doubt, or uncertainty that society expects her to experience is almost fuel for her to do as she pleases. Throughout the song, she is vocalizing her agency while also adding a traditional feel to the song through the use of Nigerian pidgin and the instrumental. This song captures the feeling of knowing the power you hold within yourself and claiming what is rightfully yours.
In the middle of our song selections, we have Final Form by Sampa the Great. It felt right to include this song in the mix because we transitioned from a declaration of power to a song that combines braggadocio with a strong sense of pride in where she comes from and what she looks like. There is a strong sense of black power in this song that she has drawn inspiration from. One of the things I enjoy most about this song is the way she creates imagery with her rhymes. In her “final form”, she “has her Afro like an empress”. Her word choice and aspects such as these let the audience know that through her features alone she is royalty, and nothing you can say or do can make her feel any less than the greatness she was blessed with.
As we near the end of the mixtape, the second to last song is also a beautiful anthem of power. In her song “Never Forget”, Sampa the Great comes back again with a strong and convicting track, another one declaring pride in where she comes from, and in what her people have created as well. Hailing from Namibia, Sampa the Great’s instrumental on the track pays homage to Zamrock and Kalindula, while the artists, who are also family members of Sampa, sing in local languages such as Bemba and Chewa. It’s obvious that this is a love letter to her home country, and it ties perfectly into the overall energy of this playlist.
The final song, and also my favorite out of the five, is Woman by Little Simz. Throughout this track, Little Simz takes the time to show appreciation and love to different women within Africa, and also in other parts of the diaspora, while also giving a shoutout to Indian women. She shouts out women from multiple countries and incorporates wordplay with different aspects that come from each country as well, such as Sierra Leonne being a “gem” and Ghana, with Little Simz only seeing “Black stars”, which is also the name of the country’s soccer team. The little easter eggs sprinkled around the song are lighthearted and appropriately highlight the differences between the women in these places while also pointing out their specialties. The celebration of women and where they come from is what we need, rather than the imagery of violence and hypersexualization. The power in the unification of women is something beautiful, and this song perfectly expresses that as well.
The message of each song coming from a woman makes the message of power and pride more potent. African women can remind us all of the power we hold, in contrast to the media’s usual expectations of what “sells”. This mixtape serves as a reminder that black women around the world are powerful, and we should be proud of how we look and carry ourselves as such.
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