Amaarae joins Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to discuss her new song “Co-Star” released earlier today, why her forthcoming project ‘Fountain Baby’ is the album she always dreamed of making, her musical upbringing, what she’d be doing if she didn’t pursue music, and more.
Amaarae Tells Apple Music About New Song “Co-Star”...
“Co-Star” was kind of made just at a fun time in the studio. We had just finished up, wrapped up in LA and I decided to take a few of the guys back home to Ghana to continue the project. One day we were just at the studio and one of my execs, Kz, just started playing this crazy club beat. And I was like, "Yo, what is that?" He was like, "I made this for you. Do you have anything for it?" And I was with my co-writer Maesu, and he was just like, "Oh, we should write a song about star signs." And he went to go use the bathroom and he came back and he was like, "All right, I got it." And he was like, "We should start it like this ... (singing)." And the rest kind of just the rest kind of just went from there. I was like, "All right, cool. I'm tapped in, let's make a hit. Let's go.”
Amaarae Tells Apple Music Her Forthcoming Album ‘Fountain Baby’ Is The Album She’s Always Dreamed of Making…
I think anytime you start to overthink things, to me that means you're kind of in a good place and you just need to let things go and enjoy things that they are. And I think making this album Fountain Baby, that's kind of where I was at. I was like, "You know what? I'm not going to overthink it. I'm just going to go based on feeling and do the things that I want to do." I definitely felt the pressure, don't get me wrong, I definitely felt the pressure.No, no. I just figured if I let the pressure get to me, I wasn't going to make as good of an album that I know that I can. So I just decided to let it go. I feel incredible when I listen to this album. You have no idea. I think this is the album that I've always dreamed about making, probably since the day I started making music.
Amaarae Tells Apple Music About Her Musical Upbringing...
For me, I think just too many people in my family used music as a therapeutic tool. And I didn't realize that until I was older. I had an uncle who was very strange and he just loved alternative rock. And he just used to be in his room playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Meatheads. I learned about, God, what is it? I learned about this band, this all female band through him and just cool stuff like that. And another half of my uncles loved hip hop. Like Tupac, Biggie, Fat Joe, Mace, DMX. for me, that was also a cool rap education. My father loves soul and funk, and my mother loves jazz. I learned a lot about jazz and my mom.
Amaarae Tells Apple Music Originally Intended To Become a Neurosurgeon…
I think for them, I mean, I'm a West African girl, I come from West Africa, and initially it wasn't a thing. Like that wasn't even a thought. I was supposed to be a neurosurgeon. I was studying science, I was studying biology, chemistry, and I took a complete turn and I was like, "I want to do music and I want to explore that." And I started interning at a studio and my parents, especially my dad, hated it. And my mom was like, "All right, cool.”