Black Star (Amaarae album)

Black Star is the upcoming third studio album by the Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae. It is scheduled to be released on August 8, 2025, through Golden Child Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album follows her critically acclaimed 2023 record Fountain Baby and takes a more playful approach, drawing inspiration from Ghanaian highlife, baile funk and dance music rooted in Black cultural heritage.

Following the release of her critically acclaimed second album Fountain Baby in 2023, Amaarae spent the next two years performing at festivals and collaborating with various artists, including Janelle Monáe, Rina Sawayama and Childish Gambino.^[1] Her third album Black Star explores both her identity as a woman and as an artist. The title serves as a "triple entendre", referencing her Ghanaian heritage, her sense of self and the Black cultural origins of the dance music that influenced the record. Amaarae described the album as a "genesis of me feeling sure and confident". She also noted feeling a stronger connection to her Ghanaian audience during its creation. Unlike the more serious tone of Fountain Baby, Black Star sees the singer having more fun. Amaarae co-produced the album with longtime collaborator Kyu Steed, traveling to Brazil to work with baile funk producers. The project also features contributions from el Guincho and Bnyx.^[2]

The lead single, "S.M.O.", released on June 20, draws inspiration from Ghanaian highlife.^[3] Its music video was directed by Ghanaian filmmaker Omar Jones^[4] and is supposed to celebrate "beauty and power of the Black body", inspired by "Donna Summer mixed with Control era Janet", particularly the latter's "The Pleasure Principle" (1987) and the former's "Love to Love You Baby" (1975).^[5]