Ama Serwah Genfi (born July 4, 1994), formerly known as Petrah and currently known professionally as Amaarae, is an Ghanaian-American singer and songwriter. She is known for her fusion of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, R&B,

afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

, and

alté Alté (locally pronounced as "ahl-teh") is a fusion genre of music that combines elements of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and alternative R&B. The term was coined in the 2010s by Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi, meaning alternative ...

, as well as her fluid representation of gender and sexuality. After collaborating with local artists and putting out a few non-album singles, she released her debut EP, ''Passionfruit Summers,'' in 2017. In 2020, Amaarae released her debut album ''The Angel You Don't Know'' to critical acclaim. The song " Sad Girlz Luv Money" featuring Moliy gained popularity on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. In 2021 the song was remixed with a feature from

Kali Uchis Karly Marina Loaiza (born July 17, 1994), known professionally as Kali Uchis ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Her accolades include a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award, an American Music Awards, American Music Award, two Billboard Music Awar ...

and charted globally.

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

labeled the album "Best New Music" and named it the 19th best album of 2020. On June 9, 2023, she released her highly anticipated second album '' Fountain Baby'' to rave reviews.

Early life

Amaarae was born in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to Ama Bawuah and Kwadwo Boateng Genfi and was raised between

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. She is the eldest of two children. Amaarae wrote her first song at the age of 13. During her teenage years, she enjoyed watching music videos and said that one of her most vivid memories was watching the music video for the

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

song " Young, Fresh n' New". She recalls Kelis' unique expression being an inspiration for her. During high school, she started making

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

s. By the age of 17, she took up an internship at a music studio. At a tertiary institution, she undertook voice training and honed her songwriting skills while studying English literature. She returned to Ghana in June 2017.

Career

Amaarae released her debut project ''Passionfruit Summers'' in 2017. The album features the song "Fluid", which was complemented by a music video. Amaarae was named one of

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

Africa's Favourite New Artists in April 2018 and later that year became an Apple Music Beats 1 featured artist for her debut project ''Passionfruit Summers'' which she released through her independent record label, Golden Child LLC on November 30, 2017. In November 2018 she performed with Teni, BOJ and Odunsi (The Engine) at ART X Lagos, an art fair in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Amaarae has also been acknowledged for her style and fashion sense. In 2018, she was featured in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' online in an article on four women across the globe with buzz haircuts and was mentioned as one of Vogue online's Top 100 Style Influencers of 2018. She was nominated as Artist of the Year at the Glitz Style Awards in Ghana. She has also patronized Ghanaian fashion brand Free The Youth. On March 23, 2019, Amaarae was chosen to perform at the first Boiler Room event in Accra alongside La Meme Gang (A Collective comprising Nxwrth, RJZ, KwakuBS, Darkovibes, Kiddblack and $pacely) and rapper

Kwesi Arthur Emmanuel Kwesi Danso Arthur (born 18 December 1994), known professionally as Kwesi Arthur, is a Ghanaian rapper, singer and songwriter from Tema. He rose to fame in 2017 with the hit single "Grind Day", which received widespread acclaim, a co-s ...

. Amaarae has since collaborated with

Stonebwoy Livingstone Etse Satekla (Born 5 March 1988), better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian people, Ghanaian Afro pop music, Afropop, Afro-dancehall and reggae musician from Ashaiman, Accra. He is the CEO of Burniton Music Group. He w ...

, Kojey Radical, M3NSA, Santi,

Blaqbonez Emeka Akumefule (born 29 January 1996), known professionally as Blaqbonez, is a Nigerian rapper and singer signed to Chocolate City. Blaqbonez is popularly known for his distinct rap style as well as his creative ingenuity. In 2019, he was prof ...

, Buju, Odunsi, B4bonah. In 2019, she collaborated with the Nigerian singer-songwriter

Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolara ...

. On November 12, 2020, Amaarae released her debut studio album, '' The Angel You Don't Know''. Owen Myers of ''

'' wrote that it "crackles with innovation, a pacesetter at a time when industry bigwigs are waking up to the long-held truth that Africa is setting the global tempo for pop music." In May 2022, Amaarae, together with Black Sherif,

and Smallgod met

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

when he visited Ghana and held a private album listening party in Accra for his new album, '' Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers''. On June 9, 2023, she released her sophomore album '' Fountain Baby'' via Interscope Records. The release also came with the news that she'd become the first Ghanaian to appear on NPR Tiny Desk. On April 14, 2025, Amaarae made history as the first Ghanaian artist to perform a solo set at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

. Her performance on the Gobi Stage featured unreleased tracks and songs by Ghanaian artists such as La Même Gang, Eazzy, Joey B, and the Asakaa Boys. During the set, she announced her upcoming album ''Black Star'' and notably shaved her head on stage, a move that garnered significant attention on social media.

Discography

Studio albums

EP

Singles

As a featured artist

Other charted songs

Nominations

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1994 births Living people Neo soul singers 21st-century Ghanaian women singers Ghanaian record producers Ghanaian alté singers Afrobeats musicians