The club doors swing open.
Deep blue light floods a winding corridor. People line the walls around you, piled on each other, adjusting their waist to the thump of seductive rhythms. Luscious lyrics leave the taste of sapphic lust on your lips and body. Butterflies swarm your belly, a desire to dive deep into the hive of the dancefloor and come out coated in confidence. Pheromones that could only be left by the melodies of Ghanaian-American royalty Amaarae.
BLACK STAR opens with sharp, stabby synths on ‘Stuck Up’, in the language of baile funk; ringing like an alarm, warning of Amaarae’s arrival. Amongst the stick of the dancefloor, heat radiates off your body. ‘B2B’ starts with its soft, techno pulse, blended with classic Amaarae harp strings.
Then, the club takes a turn. ‘She Is My Drug’ honours and twists Cher’s 1998 song ‘Believe’ over the top of addictive synths and polyrhythms, building the room into a burning desire. Then come illustrious, quaking singles ‘Girly Pop!’ and ‘S.M.O.’, and the flirty and cheeky ‘Fineshyt’.
By the time we reach ‘Dream Scenario’,with Charlie Wilson’s prophetic verse, you're conscious again. Your clothes are sweated through, and the person next you has the remnants of your lip liner on their face, along with an irresistible look that yearns for more kinetic chemistry. With the room longing for movement, the next DJ plugs in their USB. ‘100DRUM' and ‘FREE THE YOUTH’ regale us again. BLACK STAR it is the sexy sapphic rule book to the club, Amaarae’s monument as the life of the party personified.
Words by badbitchbenny