Global star Amaarae has cast a critical eye back at 2017, a period widely regarded as the “peak” of Ghana’s alternative (alté) music scene. It was a turning point in Ghanaian music history that saw the emergence of the alté scene, a genre-fluid movement blending alternative sounds with Ghanaian influences.
While many fans remember 2017 as a golden era of SoundCloud experimentation and creative boundary-pushing, Amaarae suggests the movement faltered not because of the audience, but because the artists themselves weren’t ready for the grind.
When asked by Nana Kojo Mula whether enough was done that year to prepare the Ghanaian market for change properly, Amaarae shifted focus from audience readiness to artist preparedness. She suggested that many musicians were not equipped enough for the moment they had created.
“A lot of artists at that time underestimated how much work it takes to scale a career. Artists underestimated the capacity that it takes to be present and disciplined and forward-thinking, and also consider the fact that this is a terrain that is ever evolving,” she shared.
The “Angels in Tibet” hitmaker emphasized that success in music requires constant evolution alongside the industry itself. She argued that when artists fail to maintain momentum and push the culture forward, even engaged audiences can only do so much.
“I think once the artists aren’t doing that and moving the culture and conversation forward, the audience can only do so much with what they’re given,” Amaarae explained, rejecting the notion that audiences bear primary responsibility for the movement’s trajectory.
Her assessment of the era was sobering. “No, I don’t think anything was learned from that period, sadly,” she stated, suggesting that the lessons from 2017’s breakthrough moment have gone largely unheeded.
However, Amaarae maintained a note of cautious optimism about the future. “But, hopefully, we can, but there’s still time,” she added, indicating that opportunities remain for Ghanaian artists to apply those lessons in the future.
The comments provide rare insight from one of the alté movement’s most successful exports into why the scene, despite generating significant buzz and producing innovative music, struggled to achieve the sustained commercial and cultural impact many anticipated. Amaarae’s own career trajectory, which has included Grammy nominations and international collaborations, stands as evidence of what’s possible when artists combine innovation with the discipline and forward-thinking approach she describes.
Her reflections arrive as a new generation of Ghanaian artists navigate similar challenges, raising questions about whether the industry has truly learned from the alté era’s unfulfilled promise.
