Amaarae wrote her first mixtape,
In Splendid Isolation, ISI for short, at 17 years old while in Ghana. It features the songs "She Came First", Amaarae's take on Cassie and Ryan Leslie's "
Addiction", and the song "CrukdStr8", her spin on Big Sean's "
A$$". Amaarae released her debut project
Passionfruit Summers in 2017. The album features the song "Fluid", which was complemented by a music video. Amaarae was named one of
Apple Music Africa's Favourite New Artists in April 2018 and later that year became an
Apple Music Beats 1 featured artist for her debut project
Passionfruit Summers which she released through her independent record label, Golden Child LLC on November 30, 2017. In November 2018 she performed with
Teni,
BOJ and
Odunsi (The Engine) at
ART X Lagos, an art fair in
Lagos,
Nigeria. Amaarae has also been acknowledged for her style and fashion sense. In 2018, she was featured in
Vogue online in an article on four women across the globe with
buzz haircuts and was mentioned as one of Vogue online's Top 100 Style Influencers of 2018. She was nominated as Artist of the Year at the
Glitz Style Awards in Ghana. She has also patronized Ghanaian fashion brand
Free The Youth. On March 23, 2019, Amaarae was chosen to perform at the first
Boiler Room event in Accra alongside La Meme Gang (A Collective comprising
Nxwrth, RJZ, KwakuBS,
Darkovibes, Kiddblack and
$pacely) and rapper
Kwesi Arthur. Amaarae has since collaborated with
Stonebwoy,
Kojey Radical,
M3NSA, Santi,
Blaqbonez, Buju, Odunsi, B4bonah. On November 12, 2020, Amaarae released her debut studio album, ''
The Angel You Don't Know. Owen Myers of Pitchfork'' wrote that it "crackles with innovation, a pacesetter at a time when industry bigwigs are waking up to the long-held truth that Africa is setting the global tempo for pop music." In May 2022, Amaarae, together with
Black Sherif,
Stonebwoy and
Smallgod met
Kendrick Lamar when he visited Ghana and held a private album listening party in Accra for his new album,
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. On June 9, 2023, she released her sophomore album
Fountain Baby via Interscope Records. The release also came with the news that she'd become the first Ghanaian to appear on NPR Tiny Desk. On April 14, 2025, Amaarae made history as the first Ghanaian artist to perform a solo set at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Her performance on the Gobi Stage featured unreleased tracks and songs by Ghanaian artists such as La Même Gang,
Eazzy,
Joey B, and the Asakaa Boys. During the set, she announced her upcoming album
Black Star and notably shaved her head on stage, a move that garnered significant attention on social media. On August 8, 2025, Amaarae released her third album
Black Star. The official music video for "Fineshyt" was also released on the same day. == Discography ==