A Sonic Introduction To Amaarae Via PassionFruit Summers
A project made out of the polygamous marriage of varied sounds from R&B, Pop, and electric with a touch of dreamy and sensual content, PassionFruit Summer was my introduction to the badbitch whisperer
The year is 2017 and I am relaxing on the couch while a friend plays music from an artiste who I would later come to adore and respect. My initial thoughts were very indifferent to the music I was listening to. It was not until later in the year when I found myself listening to the project that I connected with the sound and the person behind the music. I moved from a doubter to a believer. A project made out of the polygamous marriage of varied sounds from R&B, Pop, and electric with a touch of dreamy and sensual content, PassionFruit Summer was my introduction to the bad bitch whisperer Amaarae.
The six-track project which was the singer’s debut project features Camidoh (then Fingers) and Sutra giving listeners a front-row seat into Amaarae’s persona, mindset and vision of what was to come. At the time, the alternative had just peaked in Ghana with acts such as Kirani Ayat, La Meme, Ria Boss, Worlasi and a host of others popping off at different places and platforms. However, what made Ama stand out was her laid-back, chilled and echoing vocals she laid on the beats. Her voice was perhaps the most unique you would hear. For a moment listening to her felt like encountering a siren whose sole aim is to trap you in her world. I was trapped and I was loving the trap she had set. The theme surrounding the entire project felt like a trip into Amaarae’s rocky love life and a pleasurable experience of lust, drugs and serenity. The confidence and clarity in the contents were so pure it made listening to it to date a blissful experience. MikeMillz, Rvdical, EDWVN and Dex Kwasi provide her with communication to fire home a six-part sonic drug that gives listeners the calm and bliss it is meant to provide.
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The first song ‘Sunday’ welcomes us into Ama’s world of peace which is facing unrest courtesy of her lover. As someone that loves love and all, it has to offer. Amaarae expresses her desire to be with a partner but is not ready to face the stress and troubles that often come with relationships. In her confusion and thinking, Fingers comes in to provide clarity that a sound mind. She describes her perfect day as smoking purple and drinking under the palmtree breeze. The harmony in their vocals be it singing back at each other or one backing the other with ad-libs is the type of eargasm one needs as an introduction to a tape. Sundays settle you into Ama’s world and prepare you for what is to come.
Having gotten the comfort and clarity she needed from Sundays, she gets intimate in her next song “catching a wav” in the song she makes her intentions clear.“Don’t Bring No Sand To The Beach, Just You And Your Body”. A bold woman that knows what she wants and does not shy away from letting the world know. She wants to catch the wave with her partner all through the night. She questions what it is the person does to her because she is stuck on them which makes her want to continue catching this wave. I too would like to catch this wave.
In “Happy Mistakes” Amaarae taps into her inner D’banj to lay it all out. The intimacy she exudes from this song is felt throughout the song. She confesses her true intentions with her love interest by letting them know that now that she has found the love she has been needing she is going all in and she wants nothing but their full love which includes all she has been missing.
In “Fluid” she captures what it means to feel blissful and at peace. She talks about how she is tired of having to second-guess herself when it comes to her love interest. Thus, she encourages them to take the bold step and let go as she has done so they can both float in this pool of love and intimacy. The next song “Hawaii” feels like an extension of Fluid because she is still out here repeatedly reassuring her love interest of what she is willing to do to make things work.
On the title track “Passionfruits Summer” with Sutra, it felt like a threesome of emotions and feelings between myself and the two women. The vocal prowess displayed on this song in particular by both ladies is perhaps the final nail in the coffin that made Amaarae the certified Bad Bitch Whisperer. The underlying R&B feels from the song provide listeners with pure passionate intimacy of sonics at the display.
Also Read: BAD BITCHING A SELLING POINT IN OUR INDUSTRY
The project is a look into what seems like Amaarae’s diary as she shares sour moments that come with being in love or searching for that one person or persons that can give you the love you deserve in all its forms. The trip from track one to six is one eargasm to another. This project gave us a prelude to Amaarae’s artistry. Her lyricism might be overlooked but it should not. Because as much her voice is captivating, the imagery her writing evokes is something very few artists out here have. Her ability to hit those low tones, the falsetto, ad-libs and backings on this project provided a wonderful listening experience. If Jhene Aiko and Usher had a baby I am very confident she would be Amaarae. If you have not listened to PassionFruit Summer yet. You can stream it HERE