AMAARAE & TINASHE

Two global stars who aren't afraid to match each other's freak talk about stage presence, side hustles, strip clubs and the Severance-like disconnect between life and art

- TOMÁS MIER

Amaarae is scrolling through the Notes app on her phone, which is crammed with questions and observations about Tinashe.

When she was a teenager in Ghana, Amaarae was obsessed with the singer's mix of melody and movement. It’s part of why she’s so excited about their Musicians on Musicians conversation - Amaarae counts Tinashe as one of the “GOATs”.

But once the camera's red light goes on, Amaarae slips the device away and recites her questions from memory. “No one can stop me. Only I can stop myself,” the Ghanaian American star tells Tinashe. “Do you know where that quote is from?”

“No, I don’t,” Tinashe replies.

“You said that,” Amaarae says with a smile. “I love that quote.”

The idea of being unstoppable seems to power both of their careers these days: thanks to propulsive bangers like ‘Nasty’ and the Disco Lines remix ‘No Broke Boys’, Tinashe is enjoying a thrilling second act more than a decade after her breakthrough hit ‘2 On’. Meanwhile, Amaarae made it big with her acclaimed 2023 album, Fountain Baby, which came after the runaway success of 2020's ‘Sad Girlz Luv Money’. She’s been bringing in more global audiences with her latest LP, Black Star, where she explores the deep roots of electronic music.

As Tinashe and Amaarae talk, they swap production secrets, parse out what pop even means and weigh label pressure against the thrill of going indie. In other words, they meet-and match - each other’s freaks.

Amaarae: “Is somebody going to match my freak?” was my mantra for two months straight. And it actually led me to the love of my life.

Tinashe: Really?