Turn off the lights. The Black Star appears. The album opens like a dance procession into an underground club. Amaarae has always been a pop star, but here she makes a bold leap into dance music territory. In a landscape where African crossover to global rave culture has mostly been dominated by South African amapiano and house DJs, Amaarae carves out a new lane for a West African pop icon.
The production is a radical shift. Gone are the Afropop bounces of The Angel You Don’t Know. In their place: techno glitches, pulsating synths, and her chipmunk soprano weaving through rave-ready instrumentals. This isn’t an Afrobeats record, it’s rave music for a global stage.
Still, she doesn’t abandon her roots. Tracks like ms60 (featuring Naomi Campbell of all people) fold in afro-bounce with electronic minimalism, hitting with a sparse but effective punch. UK collaborators PinkPantheress and Bree Runway pull her even deeper into the European rave circuit, while long-time producer Kyu Steed continues to give her albums a cohesive sonic identity. Their partnership feels at its most daring here.
The album shines brightest in moments of contrast. The outro of B2B offers the aloof vulnerability we’ve come to expect from Amaarae. She Is My Drug flips Cher’s 1998 classic “Believe” into a cheeky, clubby question: “Do you believe in love after drugs?” Nostalgia meets invention, making it one of the album’s standout cuts. On S.M.O., Amaarae delivers what might be the template for an African rave anthem – complete with orchestral stabs, rolling percussion, and thunderous drums.
This album signals a generational pivot. Young African artists are increasingly turning toward rave culture, with Rema’s HEIS making waves last year through a different sonic formula. Amaarae’s Black Star takes a more traditional dance music approach but still sprinkles enough Afro DNA to resonate locally while captivating global ears.
It’s risky, it’s fearless, and it’s another triumph for Amaarae – the sociopathic dance queen, THUG, fountain baby, Black Star.