Global sensation and US-based Ghanaian artiste, Amaarae, has dismissed claims that she identifies as Ghanaian only when it benefits her.
She has labelled such suggestions as rubbish. In an interview on the ‘Stay By Plan’ podcast, which went live on January 9, 2025, Amaarae questioned the logic behind that narrative. She noted that she is from Ghana, did her first project in Ghana, and still carries out most of her work here. ” think it’s bullshit. Like literally. First of all, my first EP was here.
I was actually in the streets hustling my first EP. Fountain Baby, I was here most of the time. The Angel You Don’t Know, I was here. So this is like my actual country that I live in and make music from,” she said. Amaarae added that because she makes Alte music, some people assume she neither lives in Ghana nor spends time here.
“But I don’t know, I think because of the kind of music that I make, people perceive that I don’t live here or I don’t spend my time here,” she noted.
Amarae explained that she is not the public’s favourite, so people tend to find faults in whatever she does, but stressed that she is committed to pushing Ghana forward in her own way. “How can I perform? To me it doesn’t make any sense at all. I think that I’m just not like the people’s champ and I feel like I’ve never been the people’s champ.
So anything I do people find something wrong with it but at the end of the day I don’t really give a fuck. I love Ghana and I want to put Ghana on so I’m just going to do what I want to do and if you don’t like it, you,” she added.
On April 13, 2025, Amaarae lifted Ghana’s flag high when she performed at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club.
Aside from performing her own songs, she showcased Ghanaian music by performing tracks by Eazzy, Joey B, La Même Gang, Asakaa Boys and others. During the set, she loudly chanted Ghana’s name and encouraged the crowd to wave their flags as the Ghana flag was projected on stage.
Atter the Coachella performance and the release of her Black Star album in August 2025, some Ghanaians expected local collaborations on the project.
When that did not happen, a section of the public accused her of only claiming Ghana when it benefits her.
