Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

Music “jumped up and thanked the Lord for the day,” the moment Amara La Negra made her debut to the world! For nearly a decade this amazingly talented young woman has done nothing but blossom. She is a woman in “Kontrol” of her life, and power, showing that when you walk in confidence and beauty you can truly begin to change others and the world around you. “…I’ve always been privileged and raised to be myself. It’s not always been easy, but it was worthwhile and everyone needs to know and see that…”

For two seasons now Amara has been a main cast member on the hit reality series and franchise, Love & Hip-Hop Miami (LHHM). There, alongside, veteran acts like Trina and Trick Daddy, and relative newcomers like Bobby Lytes, Victoria Vega, Gunplay, and Jojo Zarur she has brought some much needed fire to reality series. “I’ve loved doing the show. Maybe not everyday, all day, but the benefits and platform it has given me are nothing short of a blessing…most of the cast I respect and have gotten along pretty well, but you know it is a reality show and there’s gonna be some kind of conflict. I’m pretty used to it at this point.” She confirms she will be a part of the third, upcoming season where she hopes people will really get to know her. “This next season you’re going to see a lot of my personal life and more about who I really am. I feel like in the previous seasons you got to see pieces of it, but I really want people to know all there is to know about me…the thing is when you do a reality show they have to edit down hundreds of hours of footage into twelve or thirteen one hour episodes, so a lot is cut out. Sometimes it’s the stuff you really want to put out there or show…”

The third season of LHHM will indeed be a special one. Love is in the air, as we get to see Amara with her current boyfriend, Emjay, a singer, who just so happens to be the brother of her cast mate, Shay Johnson. “[She laughs] I’m definitely not single anymore. He’s [Emjay] such a great guy and we’ve been together for a few months now. That’s something you will see on the next season for sure…the way I fell for him was just kind of subtle, but sweet…we’ve really just been enjoying getting to know one another…” We are truly rooting for Amara and Emjay’s relationship to withstand the pressures the limelight can bring. Amara assures us they are solid, and will not let issues on the show affect their love. “You know we’re both adults and we’re both in the industry. We get it. Work is work, and our relationship is our relationship. What others think isn’t going to break us up, it’s about us and that’s it.”

 Besides promoting her music, Amara’s story lines on the show have been bringing discussing her Afro-Latina identity and colorism. Being Dominican, the former issue has caused her some issues with acceptance from her home country. Many feel as if her being Black makes her less Latin. “Latinas come in all shapes, sizes, races, and shades. We need to step outside the box and redefine the traditional sense of what it means when it comes to that.” As for colorism, she is still an opponent, even supporting  Beyonce’s recent hit song from The Lion King Soundtrack, Brown Skin Girl. As you may already know, the diva received some clapback for singing the song being that she is considered a lighter skinned woman. “I feel like people are reading too much into what she [Beyonce] is saying in the song. It’s very empowering and loving. Also, her own daughter is brown skinned, why wouldn’t she want to create something uplifting her. Let’s also not forget her father is dark skinned, she may have other darker skinned family members, and so is her band mate and best friend, Kelly [Rowland]. People just don’t know. Instead of continuously fighting about this issue we should be embracing it, the message of the song, and embracing one another…” We wholeheartedly agree with Amara and love how she can see the bigger picture and greater message of the song. Clearly she is a woman who is far from “Insecure.” (Pun intended)

Needless to say Amara is an amazingly beautiful woman, but credits her own beauty to God and the simplest acts. For her a simple face wash routine of soap, exfoliation, and moisturizing are her “go to” beauty regimen. “[She laughs] I keep it simple. I wash my face, drink my water, watch what I eat, get my rest, and just live. I try to be stress free, it prevents breakouts [she laughs again].” Besides being beautiful and intelligent, Amara is also very handy. She reveals the recently purchased a home and when she has downtime likes to do home projects. “Most people don’t know I’m very good with my hands. I’m always putting something together, or working on my home. You can even find me taking down a wall with a sledgehammer [she laughs]. I love doing it, it’s therapeutic!”

There are a lot of pretty girls in the world, but few of them are so well spoken, loved, and on the right side of change. Amara La Negra is a force to be reckoned with and tells us her next move is to take Hollywood by storm. She denies rumors that she is a part of a pending Tyler Perry projects, but is open to roles that will showcase her as a serious actress.Truly, there is no limit to what she can do. Enjoy the rise of this star, her light will never dim.

Photography by Elvis  Piedra

Stylist: Julian R. Lark 

Styling Assistant: Rishawn Felton & Monet King 

Hair by Leatha Morgan 

Makeup by Dominique a.k.a Chevon