Ghanaian-American polymath Amaarae makes her highly anticipated return with Reckless & Sweet and teases fans with news of her next album, Fountain Baby – coming soon via Interscope. Launching with a refreshingly new sonic perspective, on this first single, Amaarae expertly infuses Arabic and Indian melodies with African drum beats on a captivating solo return that explores a toxic kind of love. A seductive piece of ear candy, she poetically expresses the heartbreak you feel knowing someone is taking advantage of you.
As visually compelling and intentional a storyteller as she is sonically, dropping alongside the single today is a video that takes the viewer through a journey of highly stylised vignettes. A subtle story featuring Amaarae as the main protagonist with two lead love interests played by models Leomie Anderson and Monyjok Ngor Deng, the intoxicating video lush with lowlights, spotlights and blue lights against monochrome styling creates an undertone of mysterious sensuality. A post millennium nod to the world of high fashion, the video is peppered with iconic moments. A sonic and visual departure from TAYDK, this latest release signifies the start of the next chapter for Amaarae, with more music and details surrounding the album on its way soon.
Speaking on the single, Amaarae says:
Coming back after so long, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on what I wanted my message to be last time it was about confidence, this time it’s about love and faith. This is my sexiest video to date and what I love most about it is that young black women and men are about to see what our new energy is for 2023 and beyond. Moving forward we’re grown and sexy. We’re going to make sure we always look our best, talk our best, walk our best, and most of all we’re bringing love and romance back! Reckless and Sweet is a sexy song. It’s about being intentional with the ways we make and give love. It’s about finding the inner sensuality and confidence without yourself and sharing that with the world. As an artist that is exactly where I’m at at the moment.
Bronx-born and raised between Accra in Ghana, Atlanta, Georgia and Hackettstown, New Jersey, Amaarae’s cross-cultural experience is the driving force behind her deeply experimental ethos. Embraced and endorsed by the exciting melting pot of exuberant creativity that is Nigeria’s Alté scene, Amaarae is all about female empowerment and puts her West African heritage and influences at the core of everything she does – whilst challenging the views on gender norms, female sexuality, artistic self expression and more.
A songwriter, singer, producer and engineer, Amaarae is DIY to the core. From selling mixtapes to her high school classmates, to throwing herself into learning the ins and outs of the production and engineering process and founding her own independent record label – the Ghana based Golden Child Entertainment Ltd – Amaarae is a rare, authentic and inspiring talent.
Fast forward to 2023 as she steps into her second album, Amaarae has become a master architect of her own specific brand of cultural alchemy – with an elevated vision and flavour for what pop music really is, ready to take over the world.