Love & Hip Hop Miami star Amara La Negra just dropped her latest single, "Insecure" and it's a total hit. We've had it on replay for daysss!
Amara is all over the map right now, from her recent appearance on The Real to playing some shows at SXSW. If you're not familiar with this rising star yet (though you should be!), allow us to share 10 things you should know:
1) She's Dominican, and often sings in Spanglish
Amara was raised in Miami, but her mother and family is from the Dominican Republic. "If I say I'm Afro-Latina, you'll automatically, visually in your mind see [that] I'm dark," Amara told NPR."And [in] my family we all speak Spanish, we're Latinos. This is my culture." Her music is typically in both English and Spanish, which is totally amazing.
2) She's Afro-Latina, and proud
"I think it’s unfortunate that there’s so many talented Afro-Latinos all around the world but we’re not given the same opportunities based off the way that we look,” Amara said in an interview with HuffPost. “It’s not that we’re not talented. It’s not that we’re not educated. They just don’t consider that we [have] what they consider to [be] the Latino look."
Yes, girl! Preach!
3) She has 1.4 million Instagram followers.
If you didn't know, she's a pretty big deal.
4) Her locks are 100% real.
She even took her braids out to prove it.
5) "Insecure" isn't her only song.
Amara also has a song called "What a Bam Bam," and the music video is hot AF. She also has several other songs including "Se Que Soy" and "Ayy."
6) She's apparently working on her own show.
It's going to be called Girl Talk and I bet it will be amazing.
7) She's only 27 years old...
...And totally kicking ass, if you ask me.
8) Her mom is her hero.
"I love my mom and she is the most important people in my life," Amara told BET Style. "She is my role model and she has taught me what a strong woman is. I can only recall once or twice in my life when my mother cried because she had to be strong. She had to be a strong woman because she left her country and she had to be a provider. She had to go through the process of working, getting her citizen papers and taking care of her daughter, who wanted a career in almost everything." Her mom worked multiple jobs to support her daughter's dreams. "She did all of this because she was able to see my potential and I am so grateful to that woman and I would do anything to make her proud. My mom is so important to me." Awww!
9) She's a dancer.
And it helped her lose a ton of weight, believe it or not. "Before I began focusing a 1000 percent on my career, I was a Zumba instructor and I am still certified to instruct," Amara told BET Style. "I used to weigh 230 pounds. My mom and I were going through a really depressing time and I found comfort in eating. So when I decided to change my life for the better, I stopped eating pizza, which I love, and I started dancing like three to four hours a day and naturally lost the weight. Dancing is all that I need. If I could dance my life away in sweat, I would be satisfied. I also train with King Fitness.”
That's so crazy!
10) She'll be performing in New York at the SoulFrito Urban Latin Music Fest this summer.
BRB, getting my tix and booking a flight.