Aminata Kabba (born 13 December 1994), also known by her stage name Kabba (stylised as KABBA), formerly A*M*E, is a British singer and songwriter.
In 2011, A*M*E was scouted and signed by Take That frontman Gary Barlow to his label, Future Records. On 9 December 2012, the BBC announced that KABBA – then A*M*E – had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll. In January 2013, A*M*E signed to Sony Music's Epic Records after Barlow closed Future Records to focus on his own career commitments. The Duke Dumont single "Need U (100%)", featuring A*M*E and MNEK, topped the UK Singles Chart on 7 April 2013.
Biography
1994–2011: Early life Kabba was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone. At the age of eight, she moved to England after her mother's hair salon was burned to the ground and life in Sierra Leone became too dangerous. Growing up in the Catford area of south-east London, A*M*E was introduced to fellow teenage prodigy MNEK. The pair bonded over a mutual love of '90s pop music and started collaborating, quickly creating a handful of songs including "City Lights". The track was enough to pique the interest of Take That frontman Gary Barlow, who proceeded to sign her to his Future record label.
2012–2018: Career beginnings: A*M*E In 2012, A*M*E released a string of promotional singles called "City Lights" (featuring Bartoven), "Ride or Die" and "Find a Boy", which she co-wrote alongside Emeli Sandé and producer Naughty Boy.
It was announced by The Guardian in September 2012 that A*M*E would release her first commercial single, "Play The Game Boy", in November 2012. Produced by Electric, the track attained positive reviews, with Digital Spy listing the song as one of its 'Top 10 tracks You Need to Hear'; commenting on "[its] insanely addictive choruses and K-pop inspired melodies" and that "it feels fresher than anything else on this week's chart."
On 9 December 2012, the BBC announced that A*M*E had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll alongside the likes of Angel Haze and The Weeknd.
Her collaboration with Duke Dumont, "Need U (100%)" was released in March 2013. It became both acts' most successful single at the time, debuting at number one and remaining there for two weeks, and earned her a nomination in the Best Dance Recording category at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
On 14 July 2014, A*M*E released her second official single, "Heartless", produced by Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub. She also featured on Monsieur Adi's single "What's Going On?", CamelPhat's "Paradigm", MK's "My Love 4 U", Tough Love's "Closer to Love", Shift K3Y's "Entirety", as well as appearing on M-22's "White Lies".
2019–present: KABBA and debut EP Through an Instagram post on 8 July 2019, A*M*E announced that she would rebrand as KABBA.A*M*E Announces Rebrand as KABBA:
KABBA announced the first single from her self titled debut EP on 12 July 2019. It is titled "Glue" and features Bartoven, who previously appeared on her song "City Lights". The song was first premiered on COMPLEX on 24 July 2019. In the article, KABBA explained the reasons behind her rebrand, stating: "KABBA is a Sierra Leonean name and part of my identity that is so precious to me. Now that I'm entering a new phase in my career, I'm free to fully embrace KABBA."Emerging R&B Singer KABBA Shares Booming, Bass-Heavy "Glue":
Her debut EP KABBA was released on 14 February 2020.
Artistry Influences KABBA has been heavily influenced by K-pop, saying "I love my K-pop, but I haven't really done anything with that sound yet. There's influences from it in my music – I've got some fat, solid, six-part melodies which are very K-poppy." KABBA cites Beyoncé, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Big Bang as her influences, she also cites Janet Jackson as a major influence calling Jackson her idol.
Discography Extended plays Title Details KABBA Released: 14 February 2020 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download Note to Self Released: 29 October 2021 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download
Singles As lead artist Title Year Album "City Lights"2012 rowspan="4" "Ride or Die" "Play the Game Boy" "Heartless" 2013 "Glue"2019KABBA "My Work Is Done" "Muscle"2020 "Rather Be Single"2021Note to Self "Mood"
As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album UKPeak positions for the featured singles in the UK: For "Need U (100%)": AUS BEL DEN IREPeak positions for Ireland: For "Need U (100%)": NL "Need U (100%)"(Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E)2013 1 40 17 31 27 20 rowspan="2" "What's Going On?"(Monsieur Adi featuring A*M*E) – — — — — — "Paradigm"(CamelPhat featuring A*M*E)2015 – — — — — — Axtone Ten "My Love 4 U" 2016 – — — — — — "Closer to Love" 2017 – — — — — — Past Present Future "Entirety" 2018 – — — — — —
Promotional singles Title Year Album "Find a Boy"(A*M*E featuring Mic Righteous) 2012
Guest appearances Title Year Artist Album Notes "One Thousand" 2012 Cheryl Cole A Million Lights Un-credited backing vocals "Future X Girl" 2014 Neon Jungle Welcome to the Jungle "WTF (Interlude)" 2017 Brayton Bowman 22 Minutes Later Un-credited speaker "All In" 2018 Throttle rowspan="2" Writer and un-credited lead vocalist "White Lies" 2019 M-22
Songwriting credits
YearArtistAlbumSongCo-written with 2012 f(x) Electric Shock "Beautiful Stranger" Mich Hansen, Jason Gill 2013 Samsaya Bombay Calling "Stereotypes" Sampda Sharma, Iain Farquharson, Fredrik Ball Duke Dumont "Need U (100%)" Uzoechi Emenike, Robbie Bergin 2014 Neon Jungle Welcome to the Jungle "Future X Girl" Anita Blay, Benjamin Berry 2015 Duke Dumont rowspan="7" "The Giver (Reprise)" Adam Dyment, Hal Ritson, Kelli-Leigh Henry-Davila, Uzoechi Emenike 2016 JKAY "Stranger" Jonathan Keep, Marvin Humes, Uzoechi Emenike, Caroline Furoyen, Sinai Tedros 2018 Mike Williams "Give It Up" Michael Willemsen, Stevie Appleton Throttle "All In" Uzoechi Emenike, Robbie Bergin 2019 Ryan Ashley "Familiar" Ryan Campbell, Roberto Manfredi M-22 "White Lies" Andre Nookadu, Andrew Bullimore, Frank Sanders, Matthew Humphrey 2020 Sleepwalkrs "More Than Words" Roberto Manfredi, Thomas Hollings, Samuel Brennan, Uzoechi Emenike KSI All Over The Place "Really Love" Olajide Olatunji, Craig David, James Murray, Mustafa Omer, Nicholas Gale, Eugen Nwohia, Ronald Nwohia, Michael Ashley, Paul Newman, Steve Wickham Amun rowspan="3" "Done Me" Uzoechi Emenike, Raoul Chen, Alexander Montell, Amun Ahmed 2021 Like Son "One Night Only" Conor Blake, Joseph Paul Murphy, Nathan Richards, Samuel Brennan, Tom Hollings Joel Corry "I Wish" Harlee Jayne Sudworth, Jess Glynne, Joel Corry, Lewis Thompson, Mabel McVey, Neave Applebaum, Paul Harris, Poppy Baskcomb, Robert Harvey, Uzoechi Emenike Amun No Ceilings "Press Delete" Tyler Hotston, Amun Ahmed 2025Zach CampbellMidnight Bodies "Red Flags"Zach Campbell, Uzoechi Emenike "Strip" "Midnight Bodies" Zara Larsson Midnight Sun "Girl's Girl" Zara Larsson, Uzoechi Emenike, Tyler Christian Lewis, Patricio Contreras Twice This Is For "Dat Ahh Dat Ooh" Uzoechi Emenike, Tate Farris, Jamal Woon, Relyt 2026 Say Now "Millions" Ysabelle Salvanera, Amelia Onuorah, Madeleine Haynes, Ashton Sellars, Ifeoluwa Oladigbolu "Maestro the Baker", Ines Dunn, Maisie Peters
Music videos Song Year Artist Director Reference(s) "City Lights" 2012 A*M*E (featuring Bartoven) Ashur Yelda, Aram Antabil,Ashley McDermott & Chantelle Fiddy "Ride or Die" A*M*E "Play the Game Boy" Patrick Killingbeck "Heartless" 2013 "Rather Be Single" 2021 KABBA Amaka Lin "Mood" Oliver Marshall
Awards and nominations Year Organisation Award Result 2012 BBC Sound of 2013 Sound of 2013 2014 Grammy Awards Best Dance/Electronic Recording: "Need U (100%)"
References