I mentioned Amaarae in my post on the New West African Sound, but for those who don’t know, she’s a multi-talented Ghanaian American artist. She brings a very new style of sound that draws on influences from her upbringing in America and Ghana, and this allows her sound to sound distinct from others.
After releasing Leave Me Alone back in July, Amaarae has returned with something new and different with a new song is called Fancy. Where Leave Me Alone was a laid-back song about wanting to be left alone, Fancy is a more fun song about feeling yourself. A lot of people have seen Fancy as a bad b*tch anthem, and I couldn’t agree more. In the first verse, Amaarae sings "Everyday I do my dance in the mirror, Cos I feel so damn fancy" and if that's not empowering, then I don't know.
It’s a shame it wasn’t released during the peak of summer because I think it’s the perfect summer anthem. It’s the type of song you need to listen on full blast as you’re getting ready for a summer motive (of course this would be better if we weren’t in a pandemic). Even if you're not getting ready to go anywhere, it's nice song to just vibe to in your room.
As it’s a fun song, the visuals are just as fun! The music video definitely gives me small small Missy Elliott vibes and I’m here for it. The impressive visuals were shot in Ghana and directed by Ghanaian director, David Nicol-sey. These visuals introduce a different style to the usual music videos released by Ghanaian artists, and it's a breath of fresh air!
As for Amaarae, she’s leading the way when it comes to the new alté scene, especially in Ghana. If I were you, I’d add Fancy to your playlists asap!