Amara La Negra

Amara La Negra was born on November 16, 2002 in the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami, Florida. The town she came from was largely populated by Dominicans and her mother Ana Maria Oleaga herself had emigrated from Dominican Republic to the United States. Oleaga was a single parent who raised Amara by working in several jobs at the same time. The mother and daughter have been inseparable and remain very close to each other. Even as a young child, she was completely sure she wanted to be an artist/entertainer and was secure in this belief. She asserts that her confidence and poise comes from this confident childhood. Amara is currently single and has stated that her work schedules and commitments keep her very busy.

Amara’s career as a performer began when she was extremely young as she participated in several competitions and pageants. She was even a regular part of ‘Sabado Gigante,’ a Spanish TV entertainment program when she was four. Growing up, she took dancing lessons and attended classes almost every day. Eventually, she took acting and modelling classes as well. She soon entered the main circuit with her first single ‘Quittate La Ropa’ in 2012. She started releasing several singles after this including ‘Ayy’ (2013), ‘Pum Pum’ (2014), and ‘Asi’ (2015). Her song ‘Asi’ was the most popular of her singles and she was soon well-known in the musical circuit. Eventually, she became a regular at various Latin music festivals.

Her breakthrough moment happened when she joined the cast in the hit VH1 reality TV series ‘Love and Hip Hop: Miami’ in January 2018. The series chronicles the lives of those who are involved in Hip Hop music. Her storyline was greatly applauded by the critics as it dealt with issues of race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Her popularity from the show ensured that she clinched a multimillion dollar and multi-album record deal with Fast Life Entertainment Worldwide and BMG. She is also signed with United Talent Agency. Her Instagram account is quite popular with her fans and she has over 1.5 million followers and her posts range from photographs of her childhood to her work.

The Miami-born Dominican singer hasn’t restricted her career to entertainment. She has launched her own clothing line called ‘ALN’ and the brand asserts that it make clothes for every woman, irrespective of her age, size or race; this falls in line with Amara’s ideology. She aims at creating a positive atmosphere through music that is inclusive of various identities and respectful of others’ backgrounds. She also aims to start a doll line that is more inclusive of different body shapes, skin hues and hair textures. Her success so far is only the beginning of her journey to stardom.

Amara’s journey seen some roadblocks as well. The music producer Young Hollywood made derogatory comments about her color as well as her afro origin citing she is ‘ignorant’ about herself in an episode of ‘Love and Hip Hop’. She entered a heated debate with the producer over this. However, he refused to apologize for his comments and even called her a ‘Nutella Queen’. In another incident in the talk show ‘The Breakfast Club’, the co-host Charlamagne tha God questioned her about her Afro-Latino identity and laced the remainder of the argument with pointed questions towards her color and ethnic identity. La Negra tried to break the stereotype of the ‘Black Woman’ as understood in the media, but in vain. She continues to champion the right of individual expression and freedom.