The Angel You Don’t Know

Dividing her time between Ghana and America, Amaarae sounds more like anything a child of the internet. Her delivery is more than a little like Doja Cat’s comic wheedle and she switched beats like filters, loving everything in her feed and jumping through collaborators—many Ghanian—like quick stitches. Anyone who thinks the digital world is dystopic simply isn’t listening or following the right people. The exuberance here isn’t overly concerned with American discourse, and many of the beats tap into the increasingly self-sufficient world of African beat culture.

The altè scene (which was born in Lagos but spread to other West African cities) is responsible for opening us up to a whole new wave of West African sound. But more than just a genre, altè is a way of life that places DIY attitude and full and free expression before anything else. This openness and self-confidence permeate Amaarae’s The Angel You Don’t Know, where smooth R&B, afrobeats, soul, and experimental pop bleed into each other, tied together by Amaarae’s deceptively sweet yet powerful voice. This is Amaarae’s world and she’s inviting us along for the ride.