affirmations & incantations: thraed of AMAARAE

A thread for the Ghanaian/American rnb/(afro)pop singer whose album The Angel You Don't Know has taken over my life this week. I'm intensely in the swoon phase right now so don't have anything smart to say about it right now (ilm: or ever!), just: fuck this is soooo good...

I'm not even at the emerging faves stage yet, but I could live in "Céline" forever. There's no good half/bad half argument to be made here, but in general I love how silky and cloudy the back half gets.

I heard Fancy on a playlist and it caught my attention

Yea she’s great, the song that first caught my eye was “like it” which also has a great video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai0RgtrRGSY

Janet vibes to the vocals

xpost
"Fancy" is great, maybe the most earwormy track. If you dig it, I can't imagine not liking the whole project, which btw is a breezy 35 mins -- something I'm sincerely appreciating after also grappling with the Carti and Skillibeng albums these past couple weeks.

And some might appreciate being warned that the punk guitar bookends are super brief?

"Like It" is awes. I'm curious about her prev EP too, but not ready to stray from TAYDK yet

I listened to her other stuff around the time like it came out and wasn’t as enamored. I think the new stuff is better

She does have a good appearance on odunsi’s album on the track “body count”

I first heard about her via Spotify recommendations! Good job Spotify. One of my very favorite albums of last year.

yay, Amaarae!!!

this is how I tried to hype her on the R&B thread recently: "her music is a hybrid of r&b, rap and (alté) afrobeats. The album is basically one long netfreax & chill"

Pitchfork, apart from naming the album Best New Music, ran a big profile on her:
https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/amaarae-afropop-interview/

I like the way she looks at herself/her potential:

What’s your plan for your career? What do you want for yourself?
When I think, OK, well, how am I going to do this? What is my breakthrough going to be?—I think about, first and foremost, my voice. My voice is interesting, but also very pop-friendly. I can think of my voice in terms of range and style, like the way that Berry Gordy utilized Diana Ross’ vocals against so many different types of pop tropes, but still kept her Black. And for me, that’s what I would like my trajectory to be. I’ve been exposed to so many different types of music and scenarios that I continue to build my range so that I can stand and fight in any arena, music-wise, both as a singer and a songwriter. So even if it doesn’t come in the form of “Amaarae has sold 500 million records,” it might be: “Amaarae wrote that record for Adele that did.”

(that piece is also a study in the use of words to describe African pop music, a hot-button issue if ever there was one)

She does have a good appearance on odunsi’s album on the track “body count”

― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Tuesday, January 5, 2021 5:44 PM (yesterday)

Yeah I'm wondering if how hard I've fallen for this album means I need to revisit the alté stuff I didn't get into in the past. At any rate, I'll be more open to hearing odusni & co. in the future

Thanks for the link, breastcrawl. Cool to see she went to Agnes Scott and the mention of "Me & U" caught my eye -- I'd thought about referencing Cassie in my OP, though I think Amaarae's use of disaffection/emotional reserve is more idk artful or deliberate than Cassie's? well different in any case

my current fav (it changes with every play) is subtle bop "Sad Girlz Luv Money". it features Moliy, another Ghanaian singer, who I hadn't heard of, but whose Wondergirl EP is worth a listen too. it's not as out there, but verrry nice.

ooh I'll have to check that out as she's on "Feel a Way" too, which was my favorite on last night's listen

thanks for the tip, this record is lovely

I just wanna make you mon amieeeeee

This didn’t make the ilx list ... an embarrassment ... lex wouldn’t have allowed this

maybe so, but it wasn’t on his top 40 albums list for the year

but yeah, ILM failed itself there

ha, I wondered about that but couldn't be bothered tracking the list down. I do have the lex-like urge to frequently bump this thread with lyric quotes (as seen above). Currently, most wanting to give into:

i can-not move my bo-dy

Here's a question for you guys. This quote from pitchfork's review has stuck in my mind:

More imaginative still is “Dazed and Abused in Beverly Hills,” 68 seconds of indie soul that enjoyably parodies (and one-ups) the SZA knockoffs making Shazam-bait for cable-TV syncs.

Does that song also strike you as a parody? I can see it I guess (there's much more autotune on her voice than elsewhere), but I also really like that one and wish it didn't fade out so fast, so I'm not sure what specifically is being parodied. OTOH listening to this album last night I thought about starting a thread for "songs that could soundtrack Insecure" which is maybe what that quote is getting at (though I like most of the music on that show)?

I know SZA but I’m not familiar with any of the other references you mention, so I’ll pass on this one

no worries, though in case you were curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insecure_(TV_series)

new vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sqH6q-xtUM

oh hello, it's been a year (plus since six days) since anyone posted in this thread. Amaarae has been keeping busy, thanks for asking. "Sad Girlz Luv Money" was one of the big TikTok hits of the year, charting all across the world, including the UK and the US (and peaking at #7 in India, apparently!), mainly thanks to its remix with Kali Uchis. well, mainly thanks to the song having one the most memorable hooks of the past few years really.

that remix version didn't even have a video until two weeks ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G1h4TQQOBU

there's also a fantastic amapiano remix by Vigro Deep:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtDet7M5itc

dang that Vigro remix is cool, thanks for posting it!

as a full-blown MCU hater I am annoyed to tell you that this song from the soundtrack for the forthcoming BP2 is rad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt_187Tjngw

oh wow, that is awesome!

and are you hearing all those *voices*???
yes, one of the producers is Cracker Mallo

production is fantastic, perfect spacy blend of afropop and amapiano

otoh, that Tems cover of “No Woman No Cry” is so extremely unnecessary

the production is really cool, and it's nice to know how good she sounds on something as big budget as this

lol yeah that cover honestly crosses the line to being repellent for me, I really hope she's putting together a strong album

I hope so too, but with all the (indirect) US success she’s having (a prominent feature on one of the biggest songs of 2021 and a recent US number one hit based on a sample of one of her songs) I imagine there’s a lot of industry pressure on her to go for a big crossover project. hope she stays grounded

new song, “Reckless & Sweet”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4JihPH3i_M

nice

yes good

maybe feels a little album-track-ish, but as that it's promising

the sweet and reckless video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBMiNencjrU

New song "Co-Star": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dk21erUpvw

first listen: wrote that off as cute but slight; played it again and love it. I'm a horrible Libra, not sure if that's relevant

yes she has a thread! i loooooooove this

I revisited Reckless & Sweet too and like it even more--very psyched for the album (June 9)

like it even more *now

this is from Spinall’s recent album - not as good (production/arrangement/wise for one, but still of interest perhaps:

“Bow Down”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgMIl1zk5P0

Not 100% convinced on the "Nude Beach A Go Go" moment but otherwise love the album, the first half particularly is banger city

Yeah it’s a treat of a listen. I do like the rock moves in the second half.

only halfway through but hell yes this is awesome and just so much fun

I don't know that Azealia song so hopefully the moment monotony mentions misses me

ok yeah there are some *wild* swerves on the back half, but I think it all works really well. as predicted I didn't pick up on the nude beach thing

I haven't looked up the lyrics, but this is unabashedly queer, right? like much more so than the last album?

Oh I only mentioned “Nude…” as a throwaway comparison to another instance of a rock song showing up late in an album out of nowhere. It happens on the new SZA album too. I don’t mind it but it certainly caught me off guard!

Oh ok lol and yeah the SZA is a good comparison, though tbf TAYDK was book-ended by those little rock song snippets too

Loving this. Very summery. Am I the only one getting Doja Cat vibes from the vocals though?

I can hear what you mean on, e.g., Wasted Eyes but Amaarae is soooo much more charming, I do not care to think about this any further :)

This album’s great! Guess I should listen to the earlier stuff huh?

going rock on the last track works well, don't really care for the earlier bit though

Do not care for her vocals at all

Do not care for your post at all

"Counterfeit" the standout to me rn, warming up to the rest to various degrees

this is good as hell, agreed that "counterfeit" is a highlight. love the clipse/neptunes flip

going rock on the last track works well, don't really care for the earlier bit though

is where i'm at too, love that last track. this album is so good

Never got into the first album, but this is very good. Might even be better than the new Asake.

Uuuhhhh yeaaaaah this is the album of the year

Yep quite possibly.

The arrangements are consistently amazing, how do you get music simultaneously so sparkling, languid, rippling and energetic as “Co-Star”?

prob the best musical experience i’ll have all year was listening to this and the new meshell ndegeocello right in a row

I'm kinda glad we're all in agreement here! (Well most of us at least.)

I should add I have a short Shfl review up

https://theshfl.com/album/Fountain-Baby

Fountain Baby is a sick album! I was just looking for any new random rap/r+b stuff for my son's ipod but I'll end up listening this a lot myself.

one two ready touch touch touch touch touch touch touch touch touch touch

tiny desk! her voice sounds softer live, really like these arrangements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGyP2VGUQMY

Ha, was literally about to post this. Very great!

delightful!

Yep , sounds good

Co-Star just clicked. WHOA

I'm very late to the party but ditto, I just had to pay attention to the production and rhythms. The mix of harp, horns, pop rap, r&b is dazzling, bubbling, seductive, fun. It has the charm of the wild and unexpected invention, the cohesion of being all over the place and occupying all corners, but also the focus and the flair and the sharpness. So many highlights.

that tiny desk concert just upthread is a great way to hear the underlying song structures, it offers a really cool lens on the album

had to give my amaarae ticket for next week away because i won’t be around ;_;

otoh i did give it to someone whose final day was today and she was delighted so i got a good vibe off it.