Amaarae

Amaarae is a Ghanaian-American singer, songwriter, producer and engineer. She is known for combining afrobeats, alternative R&B, alté, contemporary R&B, neo soul, R&B and pop, and for music that addresses representation and gender, including fluid ideas of sexuality and identity.

Background

Born Ama Serwah Genfi in 1994, she is from The Bronx, Ghana, and grows up between Atlanta and Accra to Ghanaian parents, Ama Bawuah and Kwadwo Boateng Genfi. She is the elder of two children. She starts writing songs at 13, makes mixtapes in high school, takes up an internship at a music studio at 17, and later studies English literature at university, where she also trains her voice and develops her songwriting. She returns to Ghana in June 2017.

Early releases

After working with artists including AYLØ, Kay-Ara and Yaw P, and releasing a number of non-album singles, she issues her debut EP Passionfruit Summers in 2017. The EP is a six-track release and includes the song "Fluid", which also has a well-regarded video. In 2018, she is named one of Apple Music Africa's Favourite New Artists and later becomes an Apple Music Beats 1 featured artist for the EP.

Collaborations and recognition

Amaarae works with Stonebwoy, Kojey Radical, M3NSA, Santi, Blaqbonez, Buju, Odunsi (The Engine), B4bonah and Wande Coal. She is also noted for her style and fashion sense, appears in Vogue online in 2018 in a feature on women with buzz haircuts, and is listed among Vogue online's Top 100 Style Influencers of 2018. In Ghana, she is nominated for Artist of the Year at the Glitz Style Awards. She also supports the Ghanaian fashion brand Free The Youth.

Albums

Her debut album, The Angel You Don't Know, appears in 2020 and receives strong critical attention. The track "Sad Girlz Luv Money" with Moliy gains wide popularity on TikTok, and a 2021 remix adds Kali Uchis and charts internationally. Pitchfork gives the album "Best New Music" status and ranks it 19th in its list of the best albums of 2020. Her second album, Fountain Baby, is released in 2023 via Interscope Records. It is also the release that follows her becoming the first Ghanaian to appear on NPR Tiny Desk. In 2025 she releases her third album, Black Star, and the video for "Fineshyt" appears on the same day. She becomes the first Ghanaian artist to perform a solo set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, with a Gobi Stage performance that includes unreleased material and songs by Ghanaian acts such as La Même Gang, Eazzy, Joey B and the Asakaa Boys.