A staunch Caribbean queen, Amara La Negra breaks from her signature sound of dembow to give fans a taste of her trap alter-ego in “Ándale.”
“I wanted to try something different for my Love & Hip Hop fan base,” says Amara, who appears in the visual treatment of her latest single wearing a print corset, gold waist chains, and knee-high boots and demanding what she’s owed.
But rapping couplets isn’t all that’s new with the reality television star. In a political climate rife with anti-Black and anti-immigrant sentiment, Amara La Negra answers to a greater call being one of the more prominent faces of Black Latinidad in popular culture.
“I feel that my responsibility as a Black Latina artist in the age of Black Lives Matter is to use my platform to continue to bring awareness and educate the public on issues within the Black community,” she says.
Like many, Amara took to the streets in Miami to protest the recent string of extrajudicial murders of Black women and men, including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
“I have also created an online platform, Not Under Our Watch, to help inform people of ways they can contribute to the change that needs to happen,” Amara continues. “It has information and links to protests, Black businesses, where people can vote, how they can be counted in the census, and events related to the Black Lives Matter Movement.”
Not Under Our Watch currently operates as a public community service Facebook page and expresses the following as the heart of its mission: “Not Under Our Watch (NUOW) is a national movement that brings attention to the social and economic injustices faced by people of color. We are a platform where ongoing conversations about race, class, activism and strategic actions are housed.”
Apart from police “reform” and broader representation on Spanish-language television, Amara La Negra is most concerned with what she feels is lacking from the movement at large.
“I believe that the movement needs guidance. We are angry and upset, and we have the right energy, but I feel that at this moment, we don’t have solid guidance,” she offers as food for thought. “I think all the activists and leaders need to come together to create some sort of organization to help better guide the movement.”
While Amara continues to develop her activist’s voice and cultivates her online platform, fans can expect more new music and a second children’s book — a follow-up to Amarita’s Way.