In her 'Black Star' era, Amaarae is more fearless and more herself than ever

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When Amaarae made her debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, she strode onto the stage with a look of fearless intent in her eyes.Clad in a militant black two-piece, towering boots and a bust-down middle part wig (which she rebelliously shaved off onstage), she stood at the center of Ghana’s flag as it unfurled behind her, pulsating in the desert wind.

“Ghana is in the building.Y’all don’t even know,” she told the audience after performing some of her biggest hits, including “Sad Girlz Luv Money,” and previewing new music.

She also played a handful of her favorite tracks by fellow Ghanaian artists such as Joey B, Asakaa Boys, Eazzy and La Même Gang.As the first Ghanaian solo female act to perform at Coachella, she was fully aware that this historic moment on one of the largest global stages was much bigger than her.“I remember walking offstage and just feeling like, man, there was so much pressure all day.

There were so many things that went wrong behind the scenes and it was really difficult to get to the performance,” Amaarae, 31, tells The Times over Zoom.“But after I got off, I was like, ‘Wow, this is something I’ve always wanted my whole life,’” adds Amaarae, who went on tour with Sabrina Carpenter last year.“And to be the first flag bearer for my country was so fire.” Although Amaarae, who was born in the Bronx and raised between the United States and Ghana, has always repped Ghana in her music, her third album, “Black Star,” is by far her most fearless and culturally resonant work to date.

Released in August, the genre-busting dance album is oozing with Ghanaian pride from its cover (Amaarae stands in as the black star in the country’s flag) to a feature from fellow Ghanaian singer-rapper Bree Runway.Amaarae also shot the music video for her track “Free the Youth” at Independence Square (also known a...