London based artist Greentea Peng was last night celebrating her inclusion in BBC’s prestigious Sound of 2021 competition. The artist has made a name for herself in the last couple of years with an eclectic brand of R&B, hip-hop, reggae and psychedelic soul.
Peng, whose real name is Aria Wells, first came to prominence on Jools Hollands’ BBC2 show, Later. Performing the track Hu Man with her socially distanced band, the singer gave BBC viewers a breathtaking demonstration of her vocal prowess.
It seems like music is in the artist’s veins. “I’ve been singing from as young as I can remember” she told the BBC News website recently. “My dad was very musical, he was a trained actor, very theatrical, and would always take me to theatre auditions and teach me Oliver Twist songs”.
Later, a trip to Mexico would provide further inspiration for the young Briton. Wells spent the majority of the trip watching musicians performing in the streets and the performances evidently had a powerful effect on her, as she was soon heading up a popular local band – and making quite a bit of money too boot.
But what of that strange name? As it turns out, the inspiration for the moniker came while the singer was holidaying in Peru.
“I go into this chemists and this tea box is just shining at me” says Wells of the experience. . “I’m like, ‘What is that?’ I go up to it and it’s this bosh box of green tea – my favourite kind of green – covered in leaves and there’s just this woman’s body cut out with a weed bikini and it said Green Tea Seng. I was like, “Greentea Peng!”, because the girl was peng”.
With her stunning vocals, soulful tunes and easy charm, Greentea Peng is an artist who we will be hearing a lot more of in the coming months and years.
More information about Green Tea Peng can be found here.
For information on other great artists in London, please click here.
