There’s the rockstar, the popstar, and Amaarae’s BLACK STAR. Making her London Roundhouse landing post-release of her third studio album, the Afropop star proved why all three can be true at once.

“ARE YOU READY?” yells Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter Amaarae into the crowd at Camden’s London Roundhouse last month, before welcoming the room to the “Black fucking Star Experience.” They responded immediately: roaring with deafening screams and bodies surging forward in waves as fans reached toward the stage in near-unison. The “Princess Going Digital”, one of the top hits from her second studio album, Fountain Baby (2023), that boosted her status as a rising artist, emerged from the stage sidelines, tall strips of strobing lights cascading in the colours of the Ghanaian flag, as she posed in the centre – she is the BLACK STAR after all.

With the Roundhouse’s door swinging open only a few hours earlier, the atmosphere simmered to a boil. With openers Deela and BINA. warming up the room with their braid-swinging and head-bouncing panache, the floor steadily began to fill shoulder-to-shoulder. But once Amaarae came on stage, the energy shifted entirely. The iconic Camden venue transformed into that of a highly-anticipated club night.

That’s the uniquely uncanny thing about an Amaarae show: it captures that side of concert culture that is often romanticised online – when gigs could be snapshots of subculture(s). Still, they exist, but they’re buried in the rumblings of the underground. At this show, nobody is ‘too cool’ to dance. In fact, let loose – you’re encouraged to. There’s no standing still for appearances’ sake because, well, who cares? For two hours, the collective objective becomes streamlined – in this house, you sweat, you scream and you go “as crazy as you fucking can.” Her words, not mine.

Thankfully, Amaarae aka the ‘BLACK STAR’ knows exactly how to engineer that feeling. Dressed in a slick, bodycon Balenciaga-esque look complete with neon yellow heels, she strutted, sashayed and spun across the stage like a primed pop star packaged as a nocturnal rager. This is part of her sonic superpower. Her music flourishes in juxtaposition. Her whisper-like, soft vocals crash against cutting-edge production. Lyrically, she’s empowering and sensual, charming with an undercurrent of impugnation – which, really, she always has been. That said, her third studio album is about embracing the fun of it all. You’ll dance and sing along, but she’s not merely set on being an artist made for the stage. Her songs are also fastened by witty wordplay that serves as cultural reflections and convictions. And even at their most radio-ready, these tracks resonate with the underbelly. When performed live, those tensions smooth out – or maybe the jagged edges get that bit sharper.

Amaarae has already brushed against the edges of mainstream pop infrastructure, from a stage-shaking, history-making Coachella set (she’s the first Ghanaian woman to have a solo slot at the festival) to opening dates on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet tour – the latter of which was a personal invitation. But BLACK STAR feels like the turning point. The moment where she fully embraces a step – or multiple – outside of the status quo, and into her own manifesto. Instead of positioning herself adjacent to pop stardom, or in its direct line, she’s invested in building her own blueprint.

From the balcony to the black boots-stamped floor, she bounced through bratty club-pop, hyperactive Afrobeats and distorted alt-R&B without it ever feeling disjointed. Tracks that timestamp her rise, the sassy “Stuck Up”, the post-runway afterparty anthem with “ms60”, the hits that pushed her into global consciousness: “SAD GIRLS LUV MONEY”, her sizzling summer anthem featuring fellow Ghanaian-American artist MOLIY from her debut album, The Angel You Don’t Know (2020). She dips between the fast bump of pop tunes to the bounce of Afrobeats/swing tracks. Effortlessly, she weaves in the sounds she’s influenced by, but also the productions she’s not scared to experiment with – this has always been a special sauce of sorts for her. But it’s the real scale of her ambition as an artist that becomes clearer with BLACK STAR. Sure, she’s for the “Girlie-pop!” girls, but her discography demands more depth and nuance of that limitation – this is an artist that has mastered the increasingly difficult task of making experimental music feel (and sound) massive and good. To accomplish a show of this sonic magnitude with pomp and finesse – that’s a vision and intention that only Amaarae could have foresight on.

That striking balance that she resides in comfortably is what makes her such a fascinating artist to watch right now. Over the last two decades, Black artists crossing into global pop spaces are often flattened into familiar archetypes. There’s Tyla as the internet-buzzy pop girl, Wizkid as the alt-pop star, Burna Boy as the Afrobeats titan. Before showing the breadth of their creativity and influence, they are boxed in. Here, on her stage, at home or elsewhere, Amaarae resists all of them at once. Pulling from alté, house, Afropop, punk, heavy rock, R&B and hyperpop, both the booth and the mixing board become her expansive canvas without ever being curated specifically for Western ears. Even through those side-eye moments where the bass rattled so violently it felt as though the floor itself might cave in, there was an arresting safety. It’s an edge that Amaarae’s persona and music together have always carried – a slight restlessness, an undercurrent of infectious anarchy. Her Roundhouse show showcased her aversion to being pinned down.

Perhaps, despite the obvious cultural connotations, that’s why the ‘BLACK STAR’ label works so well. Amaarae isn’t trying to become the next version of an existing pop archetype. Rather, she’s building an ethno-cosmic universe – herself at the centre, and rightfully so – where African futurism, internet culture, sexuality, nightlife and experimental sound can coexist without compromise. Closing the night by inviting over 20 fans on stage to sing, dance and revel alongside her under her spotlight with the empowering, “Fineshyt”, off of her 2025 BLACK STAR album, that vision felt fully realised. And judging by the aftermath of the legendary London venue, she’s quickly growing an army who would let her lead them into her BLACK STAR-spangled galaxy.

Words – Aswan Magumbe