Amaarae Bends Afrobeats, R&B, & Hip Hop To Her Will On Brilliant 'Fountain Baby'

Amaarae pushes Afrobeats beyond its normal limits, sprinkling dashes of American pop and Caribbean dancehall through her infectious contributions. The Ghanaian singer, songwriter, and engineer has spent her life, traveling from the East Coast to West Africa and locations in between, which have built the foundation for her self-described Afro-fusion creations. “I experiment with so many elements but the drums are usually afro if you pay attention,” she tells Unorthodox Reviews. On her latest album, Fountain Baby, avant-garde twists on country, R&B, East & South Asian instruments, and more, dance around the Ghanaian percussion – all enhanced by Amaarae’s fluid vocals. Her mesmerizing effect is unlike anyone else in the industry.

When asked what Fountain Baby means, she describes a ‘fountain baby’ as an abundant Child of God, one whose cup overflows with swag and creativity. On the album, she evokes this sentiment, connecting sultry ballads with playful club bangers while experimenting with rock & roll. Amaarae’s angelic voice is the common denominator that makes such polarizing sounds cohesive and inviting, whether that be an invitation to the dancefloor, or the bedroom. “But it’s also straight love-making music,” she tells Unorthodox Reviews, “I just want people to have sex with my music.”

Yes, sex is an easy and common attention-grabbing topic in music, but rather than flat-out overdoing it, she creates a naturally sensual atmosphere through an aura and confidence only a ‘fountain baby’ can produce. Most of her bars speak about her financial abundance and tasteful extensions of her wealth, yet she delivers them with confidence and charm, setting a seductive atmosphere with authenticity.

“Reckless and Sweet,” is a fitting soundtrack to an after-work vent session between lovers at the late-night pub. Amaarae makes rejection sound sexually thrilling on “Wasted,” a similar flow to “Reckless and Sweet” but with added traditional Chinese-stringed instrumentation and afro drums.

“Counterfeit” also shows off how well Amaarae layers South Asian instrumentation into her work. Her Ghanaian roots bend the drums to become instinctual. But, her suburban New Jersey upbringing shines with the electrically pop-influenced snares and guitars on tracks such as “Sex, Violence, Suicide” and “Sociopathic Dance Queen.”

“Princess Going Digital” is an obvious star of Fountain Baby thanks to its electric strobes, cozy cowbell taps, and Amaarae’s spell-binding chant “Take me out the streets.” Every facet of the song fills a room with a sense of euphoria. “Aquamarine Luvs Ecstasy” also seems to stop time with breezy saxophone notes and its hazy poetic outro. ”Water From Wine” seals the deal on Amaarae’s undoubted sex appeal and ability to switch up the pace of any function.

At a young age, she intermingled elements from a variety of music cultures off intuition, breaking down Afrobeats’ tropes, what Afrobeats entail and even veering from the term altogether. In 2017, after working closely with artists like AYLØ, Kay-Ara, and Yaw P, Amaarae stepped into her own light, releasing a 6-track EP Passionfruit Summers. What followed was a blooming gender-fluid identity in her music that transcends past Earth. Her futuristic almost robotic vocals atop Afro-pop melodies like on THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW’s “SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY” and “FANTASY”, open an untapped door within the hearts of Afrobeat and Worldwide fans.

Fountain Baby feels like the culmination of her musical odyssey and desire to play with the tropes of genres that hadn’t fully grown yet. Much like how Hip Hop and R&B have been pushed and mangled into a bevy of sounds that make the genres bleed into all forms of music, Amaarae bends Afrobeats to her will, morphing the music of her heritage and the distinction of what it means to be a Ghanaian female artist.

She’s unafraid of uncharted territory and willing to step outside the conventional box Americans place on Afrobeats, all while broadening the umbrella of dance music. Whether she’s experimenting with rock ensembles (“Come Home to God”) or staying true to Shekeres and goblet drums (“Big Steppa”) that are the backbone of Afro sounds, each song expounds on the next to bring a warm, organic feeling back into mainstream modern dance music.