'The Angel You Don't Know' and Her Trailblazing Methods for her Debut: review.

For as long as I can remember, the formula to qualify as a female artiste worth radio-play in the Ghanaian music industry included lyrically profound expressions of the Christian faith and/or sweet verses with heavy Twi metaphors to describe romantic love or overwhelming heartbreak. In fact, women have dominated the religious genre. Power houses such as Daughters of Glorious Jesus and Ohemaa Mercy have graced the screens of their Ghanaian audiences with youthful dancers clad in white, swishing their handkerchiefs into the air to the sounds of lengthy and dramatic trumpet blowing. On the other (secular) side of this spectrum, the evolution of the Ghanaian female artiste occurred. Women progressed from delivering (supporting) verses or adlibs on their male counterparts’ singles into artistes capable of dishing out catchy dance tunes or ballads worth the public’s (delayed) attention and without the need of male company. The Nana Yaas transformed into 2000's Ghanaian pop princesses such as MzBel, modern vocalists like Efya, globally-sought out Wiyaalas, and trailblazing Ebonys.

As of last week, American-Ghanaian singer, Amaarae has submitted a funky alternative track list into this growing rhythmic galaxy. The Angel You Don’t Know is a beautifully crafted reintroduction to and celebration of Amaarae’s identity whose many layers are reflected in her ability to either merge or bounce from one genre to another.

(Album cover designed by Nana Nhayan and Same Flesh)

(Excerpt from 'FANCY' music video directed by David Nicolsey)

Fans were teased by the album's first official single, FANCY which served as a promising trailer for the project. The trap anthem which begins with the cheeky line, 'I love it when you call me zaddy' was accompanied by stunning visuals of gorgeous women in glow-paint and exhilarating drifting scenes reminiscent of the iconic 'Watch The Throne' duo's 'Otis' video. In Amaarae's kitchen, her musical blender liquidises neo-R'n'B, Afropop, Altè and Rock into tales of hedonism, the complexities of romance and love as well as encouraging feminine confidence, complemented by the soft texture of her voice and wicked and often cheeky penmanship. 'TAYDK' is the first time the abilities within her artistry have fallen within one solid project as opposed to littered across the projects of her industry peers', according to their individual genres.

Unlike the honey-like mellowness of her impressive EP, Passion Fruit Summers which is comparable to a smooth three-hour car journey during a sunset, 'TAYDK' is a melodious rollercoaster ride with a backdrop of a star-lit evening sky that epitomises living life on the edge in all areas. In TRUST FUND BABY and CÉLINE, the 2018 Apple Music Africa's New Favourite Artiste is bold about her preferences for the finer things in life, championing simultaneous indulgence of material(istic) and sensual pleasures on Neo Soul and Alternative instrumentals that result in aggressive head-nodding and mumble rap-singing; she wants us to ‘Soak in all feels and the vibes’. Songs such as PARTY SAD FACE/CRAZY WURLD and LEAVE ME ALONE are love letters to the Afrofusion scene prominent in West African music today.

(Photographed by Philip Praheem)

Amaarae shows off her superpower in balancing Western musical influences and her African roots which she has been praised for by Major Lazer in their Chasing The Sound Youtube original. 3AM serves as a great example of this as the ballad sang in English, Twi and Yoruba where Rae convinces her lover to 'Give me all your love', sprinkles lines from the iconic High-life legend Ofori Amponsah's Broken Heart and Tiwa Savage's Sugar Cane on a Trip-hop beat. This isn't the first time Amaarae has done this. Passion Fruit Summers saw a romantic and sensual reinvention of TI's Why You Wanna for the Mike Millz On Em-engineered Fluid.

The album also boasts of a plethora of sensational featuring artistes, both influential in the inception of or fairly new to the Altè genre. In the stand-out single JUMPING SHIP, superstar Cruel Santino and British gem and visual artist Kojey Radical assist the singer in articulating the conflict that comes along with forbidden love- 'You gon' make me leave the one I'm with'. The single highlights Amaarae’s remarkable tendency to sing solemn and melancholic lyrics on contrastingly joyous, accelerando production and 'downtempo' rhythms. Its recently released music video encapsulates the escapism that her music often creates as the trio groove from a bar to darkly-lit rooms, curiously peering at the masked dancers that occupy them. In ‘FEEL A WAY’, a powerful trinity is formed between Rae and newbies, (and biological sisters) Moliy and Princess Adjua for a tough ‘YOLO’ record on the submission to desire and sexuality- a true testament to the lyrical prowess of new age Ghanaian songstresses and their diversion from the conservatism of their industry's mainstream sound.

Intentionality runs boldly across the project and a huge signifier of this is the placement and quality of its interludes. Rather than falling into the temptation of serving as mere musical breaks, Amaarae's interludes are reminders of the musical risks she is willing to take. D*A*N*G*E*R*O*U*S stretches out as a piercing electrical guitar solo with the eerily pleasing and encouraging chants of the statement, ‘F*ck it Up Sis’ whilst DAZED AND ABUSED IN BEVERLY HILLS runs on the psychedelic disco-funk sound popularised by Tame Impala. If you're a fan of The Neptunes' work like myself, you're bound to appreciate the above. The exceptional engineering and production of her work exists within the same universe that hosts acts such as Frank Ocean, The Internet and Kaytranada but with a clear and distinctive Afrobeats influence.

If there’s one thing to take from the album, it is what it represents. 'The Angel You Don’t Know' creates a guilt-free, honest and apologetic zone for its listeners to embark on a journey of self-realisation and awareness in a world that may feel too comfortable in dictating what people should be and do. In many ways, this is a reflection of Amaarae’s career so far. Being a Ghanaian artiste means facing the trials birthed from a slowly developing industry that misses out on the investments and promotion needed to fund a stable structure with direction, capable of paying its deserving contributors and their diversifying musical endeavours. No money, means less creative risks are taken and in turn, artistes cutting a piece of the same musical fabric to maintain relevancy (for air time) for direct access to the only guaranteed source of profit: inclusion in line-ups for seasonal local festivals and concerts.

(Photographed by Amarachi Nwosu for Clash Magazine)

Amaarae’s experimentation is comparable to a miracle; she is an ‘underground’ artiste in her home industry, whose dauntless genre blending and bending holds undeniable global appeal. To defy these barriers of the industry is to be unstoppable and with this project, the eclectic singer proves that nothing can stand in her way!

Amaarae describes her album as ‘non stop affirmations and incantations 4 bad b*tches’ and it would be quite unfathomable for one to disagree. From making multiple contributions to the rapidly growing Altè scene such as her verse on Show Dem Camp's Too Bad, dipping her toes into mainstream Ghanaian music to lift dancehall artiste Stonybwoy's record, Pepper Dem whilst paving an authentically colourful (much like her hair) pathway for herself in music, this is one personality that women of all ages in a post-modern world should not hesitate to take up a few notes on purpose, self-love, feminine power and exceptionality.

'The Angel You Don't Know' is available to stream on all platforms.