Love & Hip Hop: Miami star lands in Jamaica

Devoted social media users and viewers of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop series may be familiar with the afro-sporting, dramatic character that is Amara La Negra.

Known from the Miami instalment of the reality show franchise and for the flair of infusing diverse music genres in her music, the TV star has caught the attention of soca monarchs Fay-Ann Lyons and Bunji Garlin.

The twin island recording artistes have invited La Negra to host the One World Rebellion band launch which will happen in New Kingston on Park Close Saturday evening.

The bilingual actress/singer landed in Jamaica hours ago, a trip that she said has been a long time coming.

In a brief interview at our North Street office, La Negra told The STAR, “My priority is to take lots of pictures, see as much sights that I can, sample the Jamaican food because I heard it is the bomb — everything that a tourist can do — that includes going somewhere that I can see people dancing.”

La Negra said she is in love with Jamaican culture and its people which is the main reason for her agreeing to participate in the new carnival band’s launch.

She shared, “I am not familiar with the carnival culture; it is not particularly the same in the Dominican Republic (where her family is from) but I find it important to continuously learn about new and varied cultures as an artiste.”

She was named Billboard’s Artist on the Rise in 2017. Earlier this year she managed to hold top positions on online digital charts for singles Insecure and What A Bam Bam, which adopted Sister Nancy’s 1980s track Bam Bam.

“While my fan base initially was largely from the Latin market, persons are able to recognise through my music that I fuse a lot of sounds together, from Brazilian funk to punta from Honduras, reggaeton and even reggae and dancehall from here [Jamaica],” she said.

La Negra also revealed that she is collaborating with female dancehall star Spice on a remix of Black Hypocrisy, the track that created major uproar in October.

She said, “It was a beautiful concept along with the strategy used to promote it and while persons chose to bash her I thought it important to defend Spice.”

She continued, “I knew of her but I bothered to pay when she began the conversation of ‘black hypocrisy’; it showed her strength as a black woman and a leader which attracted me to the idea of doing work with her.”

The two entertainers have not had a face-to-face meeting but she says she is hoping to do so before she returns to Los Angeles where she will continue guest co-hosting The Real Daytime (talk show) and then to Miami to continue preparation for the second season of VH1’s Love and Hip Hop: Miami.