in search of...
why does so much music feel empty?
on August 8, 2025, Amaarae released Black Star. i almost didn’t listen to it. in late june, she released a performance with From The Block for one of the album’s tracks (“S.M.O.”). her wardrobe for the performance was a black crop tank with a re-colored version of the Confederate battle flag. along with my fellow Twitter users (where I saw the video), i was appalled and confused. i mean, it’s 2025. surely there’s a better way to generate buzz. as a result, i made the decision to tune out of whatever new thing she had going on. that was until my timeline was flooded with Apple Music links of the tracks.
on paper, Black Star is everything i’d expect to like. the sound is the definition of “the clubs are happening” (word to Whitney), its feature list is very appealing (Naomi Campbell, PinkPantheress, and Charlie Wilson to name a few), and everyone was raving about it. again, The People are why I took a listen in the first place. pitchfork even handed it a favorable rating of 8.8, automatically placing it in the publication’s “Best New Music” category (for the record, i don’t live by their reviews; i just wanted to add some #verified insight). so, why didn’t i like it?
nothing popped out to me. i found that i liked a couple of songs, specifically “Starkilla” and “Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2,” but there was nothing that I’d want to revisit. everything felt flat, a jarring change from the lushness that defined 2023’s Fountain Baby. something was missing.
that phrase, something was missing. i’ve found myself saying that often, in regards to the releases of the past few years. of course, i’m no defeatist, old-woman-yelling-at-the-sky when it comes to new music. for one, i’m too young for that. two, i’ve been having a great time overall. 2024 was very enjoyable for me (i wrote about my favorite music of last year here). as for 2025, i haven’t gotten to everything on my list, but one thing’s for sure: Let God Sort Em Out has had me in a chokehold. i am constantly reminding myself that i can’t (or shouldn’t, rather) play it every time i open Apple Music. a different hook from Tyler, the Creator’s Don’t Tap the Glass swirls in my head every day. and PinkPantheress’ Fancy That is so good that i forget that it’s only 20 minutes long. nevertheless, i’ve run into that absence more than i would like to. even some of the most heartfelt efforts feel soulless.
what pains and annoys me the most i almost like everything the phrase applies to. 2024’s Chromakopia was probably the worst example of this. it was the mature successor to Cherry Bomb (one of my favorite Tyler albums), it had a song with a “Vivrant Thing” sample (important!), and wonderful features. yet, its maximalist and full production felt so empty, and the album falls in the bottom third of my Tyler ranking. whenever i revisit the album, it almost clicks. i almost feel nourished by the layered vocals, the hard-hitting percussion, the loud instruments. but as The Vocal Bible once said, “almost doesn’t count.”
other cases aren’t as severe, but they’re just as annoying. i came across a song1 not too long ago, and i liked it. but i was like, “this needs some extra oomph.” so, i took myself to the djay app, loaded the song to the deck, and added a small amount of reverb. it felt like i was listening to a brand new, slightly better song. i’m no grand producer (though i think my mashups are nice), and i don’t mean to insult the work of the song’s actual producer. however, it was wild that no one picked up on something that simple.
i don’t know what all is missing from Black Star. maybe it needs more reverb, more echo, or more synths. or maybe i’m just trying to find ways to justify my dislike, instead of just flat-out saying, “it’s not for me.” whatever the case, i hope that — in Amaarae’s and everyone else’s case — i find what i’m looking for.