Amaarae’s third studio album, “Black Star,” dropped on August 8, 2025, into an already crowded year for African pop. Within days, it became one of the most talked-about drops on social media and in the music press, not because it was charting, but because it spread across cities, genres, and identities.

Recorded between Miami, Brazil, and Los Angeles together, the Ghanaian-American producer uses Black Star to connect global club culture with diasporic heritage. The sound moves from the sheen of house music to the amapiano beats, from desperation in baile funk to the darker beats of Detroit techno. The title makes a nod to Ghana’s national symbol, but also to Pan-Africanism, and the collective memory of Black music.

The critical reception has been consistently high, though with significant variations of emphasis. Pitchfork gave it 8.8 and made it Best New Music, saying that it is “a celebration of Black diasporic dance music” and “a pleasure-soaked victory lap.” The Guardian also gave it 4 out of 5 as “glamour, glitz and lust” from an artist who should be a supernova.” NME also graded it similarly, praising its “genre-defying ambition.” The Quietus was more mixed in its opinion, praising its ambitious scope but noting that some tracks “collapse under their own excess.” Clash called it “bold, intricate, and unapologetically experimental.”.

The record’s tracklist verifies that diversity. “Starkilla” with Bree Runway is attitude and biting basslines, while “B2B” attempts hypnotic deep house. “Kiss Me Thru the Phone Pt. 2,” in which PinkPantheress reverses a 2008 pop classic on its head and turns it both nostalgic and airy, though, as someone on X joked, they’re about to sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.. Other songs — like “Fineshyt” and “S.M.O” — are instant fan favourites, and “Girlie-Pop!” and “100DRUM” have divided listeners.

Part of what makes Black Star so fantastic is how it refuses to fit into the Afrobeats tidal wave inundating global charts neatly. Amaarae isn’t seeking a formula. Instead, she’s drawing in sounds from everywhere across the diaspora and letting them crash up against each other and combine in ways that are deliberate but never quite anticipated. The result is an album that’s being credited by some reviewers as a career peak and by others as a ragged but necessary experiment.

Whether it’s heard in full or in fragments on playlists, Black Star has already inserted itself into conversations about the future of African pop. In this space, the boundaries between Lagos, London, Accra, and São Paulo are getting harder to hear.

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