Ama is Ready to Reveal Her True Form After a Two-Year Hiatus
Goodbye, Ama Lou. Hello: Ama. The British R&B sensation is getting real on her new album.
When it comes to a rebrand era, Gen Z takes the cake for the freedom and space of being fearless in starting over. And not just for the aesthetic, but for the state of their mental health. Singer-songwriter Ama, formerly known as Ama Lou, knew that to start this new chapter of artistry and life, she wanted to have a clean slate within her musical journey. Coming into our Zoom meeting, the 27-year-old tells me she’s in a space of being locked in. “I see the end of the creation of this second album, and I’m highly focused,” she said.
She released DDD, her first EP, in 2018, which showcased a diverse range of her R&B style. The London-born artist is renowned for her storytelling and songwriting, which often explores escapism and fantasy through a lens.
Her debut album, I Came Home Late, released in 2023, provided her with a crash course in what she wanted her artistry to convey and served as a wake-up call for what she envisioned for her legacy.
“After my first album, I felt a little bit shell-shocked,” she said. “The process of creating the album was so extreme, and after I made it and put it out, it just kind of sat there, and I was kind of like, oh shit, what do I do now?”
After signing with Brent Faiyaz’s imprint ISO Supremacy, she spent time figuring out who she wanted to be. Now, after a two-year hiatus, she’s starting a new chapter and revealing a new side to her fans.
“I am showing up, and writing from my actual perspective, rather than hiding behind cryptic lyrics, or characters I make for videos, [and] although the visual will always be some sort of abstract element. I found when I approached writing again after my hiatus, nothing was flowing unless I wrote the truth,” she said.
Initially, the stage name Ama Lou was a form of protection, allowing her to hide behind a persona that kept people at a distance and unknown to her. Now, as simply Ama, she’s ready to show up as the person who wrote the songs and fully be herself. “I do feel like I’m a completely different person than the person I was two years ago,” she said.
Now with her new single “Need it Bad,” featuring Faiyaz, she’s staying true to the authentic layers of herself. “It was kind of a Kismet situation, because he hit me and was like, ‘Could you try something for this song?’ and we actually went to the studio together, and I wrote it there and recorded it there in kind of one day,” she said.
The song serves as the kickoff to her new era, where she’s embracing all aspects of herself. “Coming from a perspective of a songwriter, I wanted to match his vibe adequately,” she told YAMS.
“I’ve been writing everything in truth, and so I was kind of like, okay, well, I’m gonna have to really lean into the really lean into this, and it didn’t take too much thinking.”
She’s in a new era of truly showcasing honesty through her lyricism. “The perception of me as an artist before was that I was this cool, stoic, and nonchalant,” she explained. “That was definitely a character that I built, and I wanted to rip the band-aid off.”
Though she’s usually found herself hiding behind a character or persona, she’s now finding herself grounding herself in her full essence as Ama the person, which blends into her artistry. “With these songs and this new album, there’s a lot of different parts that I’m showing, but they’re all from me as an actual human being, or in my everyday life,” she said.
As far as what this round of music (including her new album) will feel like, Ama makes it clear that we’re all being our vulnerable and authentic selves. That includes livening up her social media presence and becoming more connected with her fans.
“I looked at the reaction to the last album, assessed my career so far, and was like, ‘I don’t even know what I’m saying in this song.’ So how could someone else connect with it in the same way? So when I reapproached this album, I wanted it to be fun, digestible, easy listening, but not dumbed down. I wanted it to have through every strand the truth of what I intended and what I had lived through the songs.”
As she embraces her new era, Ama aims to connect more deeply with her fans, proving that sometimes, the most powerful art comes from simply being real. As fans anticipate her upcoming album, it’s clear that Ama is ready to take center stage—no characters, just her truth.
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My fave, I’m so happy for her and can’t wait to hear this new album!
wow Ebony Riley now Ama. I gotta keep an eye on y'all!