EP Review: Winny Explores Love & Self on Debut Project
The Nigerian singer's music is relatable and melodious.
In the NATIVE’s uNder column for March, Winny’s music was noted for its “lyrics and…emotion-laden vocals that demand attention; the simplicity in her words does not belie the profoundness they carry, and her voice, which reverberates with a certain ache, pulls at the heartstrings.” Those sentiments were ascribed to her previously released singles “Pretty” and “Don’t Leave,” and on her recently released self-titled EP, they remain true.
On ‘Winny,’ the singer born Winifred Ohili Adanu builds upon the essence of her music, which is her Dancehall-esque patois delivery. It is the bedrock of everything she does—the way she plays with her words and shifts gears with her vocals to evoke the emotions she does. She is excellent on “Pretty” as she pledges commitment to her desires and sense of individuality. “Me and myself in a one-man gang/I guess it’s best if ‘alone, I stand’/Only the best of me, I desire,” she sings. She replicates that magic in “Don’t Leave,” pleading earnestly with her lover not to exit her life. From those two singles, it is clear that Winny sings from the deepest parts of herself, making her music relatable and arresting.
She starts the EP with “Operation,” sounding agitated and pained about a failed relationship. Over producer Damie’s heavy drums, Winny part-shames her ex-lover and part-blames herself for how their love turned sour. “You make my life go dark/Even sef the fire wey dey burn, e dey cause one hole/Not sure I’ll love again/Me ah never know if this wound e go ever wan close,” she sings. As the end of the song nears, it becomes clear that Winny has one operation in mind: getting her past lover back into her life. She urges him to “open up the closet of your heart” because loving someone shouldn’t be so difficult.
Read the rest of the review on the NATIVE.
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