Amaarae – ‘Black Star’ Review: A Dizzying Pop Fantasia That Flips the Script

Amaarae’s ‘Black Star’ reinvents Afropop with bold, unfiltered energy and a vibrant blend of genres that celebrate love and self-expression.

A Bold New Chapter for Amaarae

If you’ve been following Amaarae, you know she’s never been one to play by the rules—or care if her voice fits the “conventional” mold. From the moment she burst onto the scene with her 2020 debut, The Angel You Don’t Know, Amaarae carved out a niche merging Afrobeats, alté, and punk-electronics with fearless confidence. Then came Fountain Baby in 2023, where she layered Arabic scales and R&B into her surreal, genre-bending pop sound. Ghana’s avant-garde pop queen was officially on her throne.

Now, with her third album Black Star, Amaarae fully embraces her popstar persona, serving up a whirlwind of sounds and emotions that feel both wildly eclectic and deeply personal. The album’s title itself is a clever triple entendre: nodding to Ghana’s Pan-African emblem, the Black diaspora’s foundational role in dance music, and her own soaring rise to stardom.

Dancefloor Royalty and Glamour in Full Bloom

From the very first track, Amaarae invites you into her electrifying domain, where dance beats collide with haute couture swagger. Take “ms60,” a tribute to the iconic Noughties fashion brand Miss Sixty. The song struts with sliding drill synths cutting through crisp Afrobeats percussion, while deep amapiano log drums thunder like a runway catwalk.

But here’s the twist: supermodel Naomi Campbell isn’t just name-dropped — she steps in as a commanding presence, hyping Amaarae like a true catwalk queen. Her sharp commands—“Pivot pose… Bitch… Serve… Go”—turn the track into a masterclass of poise and power, perfectly capturing the essence of self-love and confidence.

Love as an Intoxicating Force

Amid the glitz and pulse of Black Star, Amaarae also explores the darker, more dangerous sides of love. On “She Is My Drug,” she cleverly flips Cher’s iconic “Believe” chorus with the haunting line, “Do you believe in love off the drugs?” It’s a fearless dive into longing and self-destruction, capturing love as a lavish addiction everyone craves.

Her obsession with love deepens on tracks like “Dove Cameron,” named after the pop disruptor known for shaking up the child-star image. But don’t expect anything Disney here—Amaarae shifts between flirtatious falsetto and a commanding dominatrix drawl with lines like, “I need a brat, she do what she want / If you got some ass, then come to the front.” Here, love is unapologetically raw and bold.

Things take a darker turn on “100Drum,” where the tamborzão rhythm sneaks in with an eerie vibe. Amaarae’s voice drops into a robotic growl at times, adding a paranoid edge as the song erupts into chaotic Jersey club beats. It’s like watching a thriller unfold on the dancefloor.

The Power of Collaboration and Genre-Bending

One of the album’s standout moments is “Kiss Me Thru The Phone Pt. 2,” featuring UK’s rising star PinkPantheress. Over an ambient, trance-tinged reimagining of Sisqó’s “Thong Song,” the two voices weave a tapestry of parasocial longing. PinkPantheress’s wide-eyed worry—“Is there somebody / Somebody, somebody / Somebody there?”—collides with Amaarae's obsessive hunger: “I soak my favourite sheets / At the thought you’d be with me.” It’s haunting, vulnerable, and utterly captivating.

By this point, it’s clear that Black Star is more than just an album—it’s Amaarae’s fantasy world brought to life. It’s weird, hornily playful, and defiantly free from any prescribed notion of what African pop “should” be.

A New Blueprint for Afropop’s Future

While Black Star nods subtly to Ghanaian roots, it boldly embraces global sounds, mixing baile funk, trance, and Jersey club’s jittery backbone into its DNA. It’s less a unified cultural manifesto and more a bold statement: Amaarae is staking her claim on Afropop’s future—raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically hers.

This is a pop album that doesn’t just invite you to dance but dares you to rethink the boundaries of genre and identity. After all, isn’t that what great art does?

Album Details

• Record label: Golden Child / Interscope
• Release date: August 8, 2025

Wrapping It Up

Amaarae’s Black Star is a cosmic ride through a multiverse of sounds and emotions. It’s intoxicating, at times dangerous, always dazzling—and it confidently flips the script on what it means to be a pop star from Ghana in 2025. Whether you’re vibing with the dancefloor stomp or caught in the dreamier, more delicate moments, this album demands your attention.

What’s your favorite track that captures Amaarae’s fearless spirit? Share your thoughts and dive headfirst into this dizzying pop fantasia.

FAQs

• How does ‘Black Star’ differ from Amaarae’s earlier albums?
  Black Star embraces a full popstar persona with a wider range of genres, from baile funk to Jersey club, moving beyond the alté and Afrobeats fusion of her previous work.
• Who are some featured artists on the album?
  The album boasts collaborations with Naomi Campbell, Bree Runway, Charlie Wilson, and PinkPantheress, adding diverse flavors to Amaarae’s soundscape.
• What themes does Amaarae explore in ‘Black Star’?
  Love in all its forms—empowering, indulgent, dangerous, and obsessive—is a central theme, alongside self-expression and cultural pride.
• Why is the album called ‘Black Star’?
  The title references Ghana’s Pan-African symbol, the influence of the Black diaspora on dance music, and Amaarae’s personal journey to stardom.
• What genres influence the album?
  Besides Afropop, the album incorporates baile funk, trance, amapiano, Jersey club, and R&B, creating a genre-bending musical tapestry.

For fans who want to celebrate the vibrant energy of Amaarae’s Black Star, why not bring a piece of her world into your own space? Shop your favorite album cover poster at our store here and let the music inspire your walls.