Review Summary: On the cusp of stardom
Amaarae is a Ghanaian-American singer and songwriter who has been exponentially growing her profile in the last 5 years thanks to her electric fusion of pop, R&B, house and afrobeats. Arriving with much hype, her third album
Black Star continues her trajectory into stardom – you could be forgiven mistaking Amaarae for being a global chart-topping pop diva, since she already has the confidence of one. And I mean that as a high compliment – her music is more unapologetically African, unapologetically feminine, and unapologetically queer than it has ever been before.
Lead single “S.M.O.” is the apex of everything Amaarae has set out to achieve. She glides over the futuristic production like a robotic sex siren, and both the beat and vocal melodies unfurl multiple layers over a 4 and a half-minute runtime – it’s unpredictable, provocative, and like no pop music you’ve heard before.
Black Star’s overall grooviness and danceability matches its lead single, and while Amaarae’s chipmunk-like vocals might be an acquired taste, for me they perfectly compliment the iciness of the apocalyptic production.
However, despite its consistency,
Black Star lacks other moments that stack up to the virtuosic creativity displayed on “S.M.O”. The beats on “Stuck Up” and “Fineshyt” are equally exhilarating, but on other album cuts such as “Girlie-Pop!” and “Dove Cameron”, the production settles in after a few bars and doesn’t offer up any new thrills as the tracks progress. They’re still good songs, but feel disappointingly safe, knowing Amaarae’s full potential.
The album also relies on a few gimmicks that don’t always hit: Naomi Campbell features, sampling “Believe” by Cher, and a hook that brainlessly repeats “ketamine, coke and molly”. They feel designed to chase viral moments, which Amaarae definitely doesn’t need – she
is the viral moment.
Black Star is a very strong album overall, but with a more focused follow-up effort, Amaarae will see herself catapulted into true superstardom.
