AMARIA BB
16th November 2023

Amaria Braithwaite doesn’t just defy expectation and explanation, she confounds them. The talented teenager lives her life without being bound to labels, convention, or social norms. Her dancehall-leaning R&B is palpably relatable, brilliantly written and beautifully sung. A uniquely distinct talent, Amaria’s perspective on love, life, sex, and friendship is utterly unlike anything that has come before.

Raised in east London’s Hackney by a single parent mum, Amaria was exposed to a vast and diverse array of sounds, from jazz standards and rare groove to 90s R&B, Reggae, Dancehall and funky house. The Braithwaite household was bursting with singing and dancing: H-Town and Jagged Edge were on rotation alongside Elvis, Etta James, Buju Banton and Crazy Cousinz.

Amaria’s creative imagination is sparked by many things, including time spent in the “hippy” mecca’s of Camden and Shoreditch as well as “the good, protective energy” of crystals, and travelling, particularly to her paternal family in Montego Bay, Portmore and Kingston (she’s yet to visit her mother’s homeland of Guyana). Musically, she combines the slackness of Dancehall with an R&B sensitivity, yet no matter how wild she may get, there’s an undercurrent of vulnerability at the heart of every song. When it comes to the writing process, Amaria imagines herself alone in a club or a party and allows her imagination to roam free. Each song is from a completely personal perspective, ensuring an intimacy but also a deep sense of irrevocable truth. Whether you like boys, girls, or both, regardless the gender, or genders, of the people you sleep with, this is candid, authentic music at its best. Amaria’s sex-positive, women-first songwriting is like reading a diary that details the scenarios and dilemmas that many of her peers find themselves in There are tracks about girls she’s dated, girls she’s wanted to date, girl’s who have wanted to date her, girls who want to date her but don’t want anyone to know. She’s a voice of her generation and for her generation.