“I don’t think I have a genre": Amaarae gets real about her music career in the light of new album Black Star

Amaarae’s new album Black Star came out on August 8, 2025. It shows how she works across many music styles. She mixes dance, highlife, Euro techno, Afrobeats, and club sounds in small parts. She said,

"I don’t think I have a genre. I think I’m just Amaarae."

She made the album with producer Kyu Steed and others. She traveled to Miami, Brazil, and Los Angeles while making the music. Black Star has bold and playful songs. The album title, Black Star, refers to her Ghanaian roots, Black culture, and her own identity. She weaves many styles into her voice and music. She said,

"I don’t even know what box to place myself in… or that I can be placed in a box"

Amaarae blends music and identity

Amaarae was born in New York and raised between Ghana and the US. She grew up with different worlds and music which helped shape her sound. Her first album was seen as alté or Afro-fusion, not just Afrobeats. She has long pushed against music labels and rigid categories. About her culture, Amaarae said,

"In Ghana, everyone that I knew was Black. And then when I came to America, I want to say it was the first time I saw white people. It was seeing the world in a bigger and different way, and how systems operate."

On Black Star, she taps into highlife, baile funk, trance, deep house, and more. The lead single “S.M.O.” draws from Ghanaian highlife and club beats. She created sounds that feel both old and new. She also talks about electronic music and its roots. She said,

"I really wanted to make a statement about my capability as a musician and a creative. To show people that I can do music in a higher art sense."

Making the Album Black Star

Amaarae did not follow a usual studio path. She said that instead of spending months in a studio, she built one at home. She worked in Miami, Brazil, and Los Angeles with her team. She said,

"This time around, I was like, 'Let’s have some fun.' We were just having a good time!"

She left overthinking behind after her previous album Fountain Baby, and she seems to let her instincts lead her. She also said,

"Usually we’d be in a studio for weeks or months. [This time] we built a studio in my crib and just did it."

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Black Star comes after her rising success, including shows at major festivals and a global fan base. As she says, she may not have a genre, but rather, she is just Amaarae. As discussions continue, the record stands as a fresh point of reference for Afropop and genre-blending sounds.

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