Spotlight Interview: A New Ep From Terry Ennison Hits Hard
A heavy-hitting new EP release from Terry Ennison delivers a super impactful energy that becomes quickly infectious and doesn't let up throughout the entire record. This is a release that is relentless, and from the production to the rap flows, the entire thing has a sort of intense soundscape to it, but that's what lets it stick with you.
A lot of these songs are explosive. The production and beats have orchestral and edginess to them, and the vocals can be just as edgy when they want to. I feel like aggressive is not the right word for this record. It's just got a robust and very boisterous approach, and Terry lets loose on it.
There's something about this record that feels totally freeing. It's not built to follow along anyone's footsteps or guidelines. It's not sticking to one approach or style. It is a record that's created with fewer boundaries and whatever you may be used to.
This is all part of why this release matters.
So, the EP is called Thy Will Be Done, and it doesn't waste a lot of time hitting you with that energy with its first track, "Sainted", which comes in with orchestral strings like cellos, and choir-like vocals.
Soon after, you have a sort of chorus sample hook that comes in, layering vocals and giving the song depth right from the start.
Suddenly, the beat kicks in, and Terry goes off.
He already hits with such swagger that you can't turn away from it.
His lyrical phrasing changes from verse to verse, almost from bar to bar. You can tell he has a real love for the craft, simply because he's able to switch it up like that.
He's able to squeeze in a lot into one bar when he wants to, or stretch words across another if he feels like doing it that way.
Throughout the whole thing, he's got an almost animated vocal approach.
As the song unfolds, it sort of evolves. The percussion changes up, more hi-hats come into play, and Terry starts flowing in different directions.
He can be very quick with those lyrics. He's definitely someone who is able to understand the rhythm between the beats and how to have those words flow naturally.
Still, the energy is through the roof. It reaches out and grabs you.
So, right off the bat, you have this massively orchestral and hard-hitting kind of track that is brilliantly produced and really has this rawness to it that hits you like a sucker punch to the gut.
For those reasons, it's an amazing introduction to the record itself. It opens the door utilizing some of the staples that you're going to hear for the rest of the EP.
"The Garden Freestyle" certainly has a lot of the same sort of roughness in terms of its approach. It is sonically thriving, blends in little elements of natural and digital instrumentation, hints at an electronic undertone, and Terry, skillfully but with the right kind of attitude, starts delivering memorable lines right from the get-go.
This track also has a way of sort of opening up and evolving as it plays through. Terry does more almost theatrical sort of animated vocals later on in the track, and the beat also changes up ever so slightly. The rhythm and time signature are always there, but the beat adds more percussive elements as the song plays through, so that the whole track can grow in intensity and end up ending in a different place from where it started.
This is a really key element to a lot of these songs in general. They start in one place and end in another. They grow and expand.
My favorite track on the record is probably the closing track, "Day Seven", and this is mainly because his approach on this one is the most in-your-face. He's blending a lot of the different styles together throughout the record, all in one track, but he's also coming at it with a fun sort of attitude. The hard-hitting approach is still there, it's still sort of alternative and edgy, but he's putting some of his signature tones and vocal moves on this one and making it the focus.
This works amazingly because again, this is his own signature thing. He doesn't do it all the way through the record. He delves into his personal signature style here and there throughout the EP, but this last track he really goes headfirst into it and utilizes that style throughout almost the entire song.
The whole record is massive. There's a lot more to chew on than what you might think.
He's digging into his character throughout the entire thing, and I think that's really important as well. In my opinion, having a good rap or hip-hop record needs character.
This EP is bursting with it from start to finish.
I would definitely check out the full record from start to finish all in one shot.
After listening to this release, I wanted to have a sit-down with Terry to find out where it came from, and what might be coming up next for him as an artist.
So, while you listen to this record, have a read through of our interview with Terry Ennison below.
Don't miss this one.
Where did this record come from and what was it really about for you?
Thy Will Be Done came from this character I created called SainT, who is now one of my Creative Personas. He’s almost this undead figure who resurrects, fulfills his purpose, and eventually returns to death. But while making the project, I realized SainT represented something much more personal. He killed the part of me that was obsessed with validation, perfection, and proving myself. So, in a way, SainT had to die for Terry Ennison to live.
The record follows that journey through faith, temptation, ego, purpose, and ultimately surrender. The title really captures that. At some point, you have to stop trying to control everything and say, “Thy will be done.”
I am hearing several styles on this release! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Kanye West is definitely my biggest influence in music, especially in the way I think about albums as complete bodies of work rather than just collections of songs. Kendrick Lamar is another huge influence, especially in his approach to storytelling, character, perspective, and building a larger narrative across a body of work.
Jay Electronica is also a major influence on me. I’ve always appreciated how dense and intentional his writing can be, especially the spirituality, imagery, and references he brings into hip-hop. I think all three of those artists, in very different ways, showed me that rap can be much bigger than just the song itself. It can be a world, a philosophy, and an entire piece of art.
With a record like this, do you write lyrics before instrumentals come through, or is it the other way around?
I write lyrics to the instrumental. I have this thing I always say where I’m “getting intimate with the instrumental,” and that’s genuinely how it feels for me. I feel like the instrumental has to love me enough for me to love it back. There has to be some kind of relationship there before I can really write.
“The Garden Freestyle” is probably one of the best examples. Most of that song was written in about 30 minutes. The instrumental brought those lyrics out of SainT. Then I spent about another two hours editing what I had written, finding the right cadence, and making sure everything sat where it needed to.
I’m very intentional about writing. Every verse, every bar, and every hook has to be part of the bigger picture of the artwork I’m painting with my words. And that kind of painting needs an instrumental. The instrumental becomes the color and the canvas that allow the full image to appear.
The release had a lot of personality! Do you draw from life experience a lot in your music? Is it ever cathartic for you?
Definitely. Even when I’m writing through a Persona like SainT, there’s still a lot of me inside of it. I think creating characters actually gives me another way to explore things that are personal without always having to approach them literally.
And yeah, it can definitely be cathartic. Sometimes I don’t fully understand what I’m working through until the record is finished. Thy Will Be Done became that for me. I understood SainT differently by the end of the project than I did when I created him.
Are you performing live right now?
I haven’t gotten any invitations to perform yet, but I’m ready. I’m ready to pick up my mic, rebirth SainT or any of my other personas, and put on a show that’s truly telling of my artistry.
For me, performing wouldn’t just be getting onstage and running through songs. These personas have identities, stories, and worlds attached to them, so I’d want the live experience to actually bring that to life.
Now that this is out there, what’s next for you?
Thy Will Be Done isn’t completely finished yet. I’m working on the deluxe, Thy Will Be Done: As It Is In Heaven, which is essentially the final chapter of SainT’s story for now.
After that, I’m transitioning into another side of myself through Teezy and a project called Don’t Try This At Home. It’s intentionally a different energy. SainT is meticulous and heavy, while Teezy gives me room to be looser and have fun with the music. They’re different expressions of the same artist.
Did you work with an outside producer on this, or is it all you?
Yes. Production is collaborative for me. I work with producers who help translate the ideas and worlds I have in my head into the actual records. Frizzy is one of the producers I’ve worked with, including producing “The Garden Freestyle.” I’ve also worked closely with Mr. Kwamz on my music. He’s definitely my main producer. He’s produced “SPILLED,” “A Lot on My Mind,” and “Sainted,” which is on Thy Will Be Done.
Do you sit in on mixing?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t physically seated in on the mixing process for this tape, but I prefer to be involved because mixing is extremely important to me. I work with producers and engineers across the world, so sometimes that process has to happen remotely.
The mixing engineer for Thy Will Be Done literally got tired of me. We actually joke about it now. He tells me that every time I requested a change to the mix of “Day Seven,” he would send it back, I wouldn’t hear the old mistake anymore, but somehow I’d discover a completely new one. So he could never win. [Laughs]
It’s funny looking back at it, but that also shows how particular I am about the final sound. Mixing can completely change the feeling of a record, so I take that part of the process very seriously.
How long did this record take to complete?
Most of Thy Will Be Done was actually written in July 2025, including songs that eventually became part of the deluxe. The writing itself happened pretty quickly. What took longer was everything that happened afterward.
I was moving to the United States, and I wanted to be settled before releasing a complete body of work. Recording eventually started in April 2026 and concluded in June. Then came the mixing and mastering process. I had given myself July as the deadline to have the entire tape completed, and ultimately, that’s when it was done.
So, technically, this project lived with me for about a year from writing to completion. Looking back at everything that happened between those two Julys, I think the timing ultimately worked out the way it was supposed to.
What would you say people can expect from this record?
I’d say expect a world more than a particular genre. It’s only four songs, but each song has a specific role in the story. “Sainted” introduces SainT, “The Garden Freestyle” expands the world and his purpose, and the project keeps moving deeper into that character and what he represents.
There are religious and biblical references throughout it, but I didn’t want to make something that simply tells people what to think. It’s art first. It can be dark, cinematic, spiritual, and sometimes uncomfortable. I want people to find their own meanings inside of it too.
What kind of advice would you have for up-and-coming artists out there trying to get heard?
Make the art before you make the marketing strategy. I think artists can become so consumed with numbers, playlists, algorithms, and trying to get heard that they start creating for the reaction instead of creating what they actually believe in.
One of the biggest things I’ve had to learn is that art doesn’t have to be perfect before it deserves to exist. Finish things. Release things. Learn from them. Protect what makes your work yours. Getting heard matters, obviously, but I don’t think being heard should become more important than having something worth hearing.
Before we go, is there anything you’d like to express to fans or listeners?
I’d just say thank you to anybody who genuinely took the time to listen to Thy Will Be Done. Whether it reached ten people or ten million people, the work still means what it means to me, and just a single person being touched and genuinely listening means so much to me personally. I create for particular people who need that type of music.
And to the people who connected with SainT, he isn’t gone forever. But for now, his will has been done.
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