Spotify, one of the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, has announced that Ghanaian breakout star, Amaarae, has joined its ‘EQUAL Music Programme’ as Artist of the Month January 2022.
The ‘Sad Girlz Luv Money’ hitmaker will be the cover of Spotify’s EQUAL Africa playlist, which compiles music from “the fiercest African women making waves.” for a month.
Spotify EQUAL is a pledge to amplify the voices of women in the music industry, as only 25 percent of artistes on the charts are female, according to a study by Spotify-funded by USC Annenberg.
The EQUAL programme spans seven categories, which include the EQUAL Artists of the Month and the EQUAL local playlists, where Amaarae represents the January 2022 selection.
Touching on the recognition, Amaarae said: “I’m incredibly proud to be EQUAL’s Artist of the Month in recognition of all the barriers my creative work looks to break.”
She dedicated the win to all female artistes in the country and added that she hopes this will open doors for more female creative arts in the country. “It’s a win for Ghanaian and African female creators,” she added.
The New York based star, born Ama Serwah Genfi, is creating R&B, Soul, and Afropop fusions that have global appeal.
Amaarae, who is also a strong advocate of gender equality, is fast achieving fame. Her album, captioned the rise of “The Angel You Don’t Know” is performing phenomenally well on Spotify with more than 10 million monthly listeners. Her ‘Sad Girlz Luv Money’ remix alone has over 116 million streams.
With this viral hit, which features Kali Uchis and Moliy and which debuted at #80 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 2021, Amaarae became the second Ghanaian to break into the Billboard charts – 50 years after Ghanaian-English Afro rock band Osibisa first paved the way.
Today, the entertainer known to her social media fans as “Fountain Baby” follows in the footsteps of fellow Ghanaian female star Gyakie who, with her selection in April last year, became the first African woman to partner with Spotify for EQUAL.
Other African artistes to have been featured on EQUAL include Kenya’s SSARU and Muthoni Drummer Queen, Nigeria’s Ayra Starr, and South Africa’s DBN Gogo.
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