Travas Alan Fenely, officially known as Feng, is a UK rapper born 31 March 2006. Hailing from Croydon England, Feng has revolutionized the underground scene with his unique sound and uplifting lyricism. He began his music career from very humble beginnings, working as a video editor in a post-school intern program— in turn giving him the foundation to start a YouTube channel where he displayed himself learning how to use FL Studio and making rap songs on BandLab. Officially, Feng began producing music in 2019 and released his debut single as a rapper in August 2024 “Swag.”
Originally I was introduced to Feng via social media, TikTok specifically, with his song “Walk In The Park.” The contrasting sounds from the dark trap elements to the light electronic chords making the impossible happen and syncing with one another to truly give it that shaded feel. I became quite fond of this song, how it keeps you on the edge of your seats with the boastful commentary of Feng and the lack of a beat drop/bass, however I unfortunately paid no real attention to it. Like many of my peers, we consume whatever microdose of dopamine we can get and then move on to the next thing. So regardless of my interest, I added it to my liked songs on Spotify to collect dust.
Fast forward senior year and I took some time to actually go through my playlist to discover some old songs that I didn’t organize into playlists, amongst those songs I rediscovered “Walk In The Park.” My interest properly peaked, I dove right into Feng, immersing myself in the culture and transforming into the biggest fan, while also discovering why he is one of the biggest rising stars in the United Kingdom.
The project of topic specifically is “Weekend Rockstar”, his second studio produced album. From the start of his career to present day, the biggest theme he’s put in his music is living life to its fullest and being accepting of yourself. This is no exception in his latest album either. In today’s world of in-authenicity and pandering to the media, teenagers tend to get the worst end of the stick, the results of what we grew up on and perceived as “cool.” Feng is strongly against the performative nature of the modern age internet— instead of pandering to the broader audience by posting as a means to be aesthetic and for everyone to enjoy it, he stays true to himself always.
My personal favorite line of his on the album that I feel best depicts his promotion of authenticity and being unapologetically himself comes from the album’s hit song “Teenage Famous.”
Take a pic for Instagram, I put the filter ‘cause I can
I throw the peace sign with my hands
Never middle fingers, that’s just who the hell I am
They’re like, “Why you post so much?” I said, “You wouldn’t understand”
This mindset is something he constantly instills in his audience. Teenagers, especially Gen Z, are constantly exposed to negative messages in the media they watch or read, and music is the biggest example of that. A lot of it is flexing on peers in your circle or even your friends. The toxicity in music is an overwhelming surge of pressure on our easily influenced young minds, especially when we are listening to so much of it. It’s hard to avoid it because of how intertwined it is in all genres of music we listen to, because negativity is what sells the most to my generation.
Amongst the dark cloud that floats over us, Feng is the ever so bright sun that splits the negativity and opens a new realm of positivity. He manages to transform the usual negative connotation of self boasting into something new and uplifting to his audience as he encourages them to live the same carefree and brave life that he’s come into. Within the album its a very clear circle of good vibes, positive encouragement, and boasting of himself in the best way possible.
In “Teenage Famous” the song revolves around his popularity and how he’s gotten so cool all the while being himself— within the whole song all additional boasting and confident gestures derive from him being unique.
I’m young, and I’m lit, and I’m cruising’ in the whip
With my brothers in the back and a model in the front
And she got sunglasses on ‘cause i’m hotter than the sun
She like that I’m unique, she said that I’m one-of-one
It’s brilliant how he’s able to flip the usual negativity that surrounds hanging around beautiful women as a sort of trophy, as if they were objects— and morphs it into him flexing the achievement of being one of a kind and no one else. Feng is so unique in the way he’s able to create a catchy concoction of pop/rap songs that carry such a powerful message to the youth without it coming off as corny or disingenuous.
“Firework”, one of my three personal favorite songs of the album, highlights what I believe Feng’s music represents.
I know you want it, but it won’t all happen overnight
Right now you’re low, but that’s all part of reaching all-new heights
Don’t know what’s coming for you, but I know it’s something bright
You’re like a firework that’s about to light
I believe Feng is one of if not the only advocacy of representing and being true to yourself as well as striving to make something happen with your life and leave a positive impact. With the inauthenticity of a majority of music, and more specifically rap, it almost always panders to the general audience and whatever trends are popular or whatever can get the people singing along for more clicks and views. Feng is the king of honesty, he just wants to party, make friends, and enjoy his life while he’s young— and along the way he wants to bring us with him so we can all be young and dumb together.
