Spreading Her Wings: Amber Riley Takes A Bold Step In Reshaping Her Creative Evolution

Photographed by  Jon Dailey, Photography Assistanted by  Normulis, Art Directorion by  Lay Ford 

Asst to Art Director  Phoenix Beauvais, Creative Direction by Ty Brown, Hair Styled by  JSTAY READYWardrobe Styled by  Manny Jay, MUA  Rebekah Aladdin, Videographer  Matthew Golden

Publicist  Savoy Jefferson Publicity, VT Studios

Words + Interview by Cedric Dladla

Whether you know and love the character Mercedes Jones, the empowering and inclusive music of Riley, or you identify with the Broadway thespian of note, Amber Riley, who has bought "Dreamgirls" and "Cotton Club Parade" to life on Broadway and has evoked emotions and curated unforgettable memories on films like "The Wiz Live!" and "Nobody's Fool," as well as on television shows like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and "Dancing With The Stars, there is something sacred about how the Olivier Award Winner carries her young, gifted and black energy that fuels the purpose bubbling in her body.

With her voice being the core artistic instrument of her body Amber recently won the Unmasked Singer Season 8 with groundbreaking finale renditions of John Mayer’s "Gravity" and Lady Gaga’s "Edge Of Glory" which outshined "The Lambs" better known as pop trio Wilson Phillips, it was seamless how "Harp" became both a favorite among viewers and the show's judges alike. Despite her challenges with ADHD, Amber continues to be a status quo-breaking thespian who dedicates the mastery of her trade to redefine the very essence of craftsmanship, making her a justified cover star for our latest issue My Body Is Art.

Amber closed 2022 on a high starring in Lifetime's much-buzzed-about film, "Single Black Female”, garnering a network high of over 5.1 million total viewers. Amber also appeared on the three-part docuseries “The Black Beauty Effect”, which premiered on November 25th on the Black Experience on the Xfinity channel as well as co-starring opposite of the legendary, Debbie Allen in the iHeartMedia and Will Packer Media scripted dark comedy podcast, "The Lower Bottoms", In addition, to making a hilarious guest appearance on Showtime's critically-acclaimed late night variety show, "ZIWE".

Through her authentic on-the-nose, representation of self music moniker "Riley", Amber successfully introduced herself into the music landscape as an envelope-pushing class act with her self-titled debut led by the singles “BGE” and “Creepin” which served as a culmination fusion of R&B, soul, gospel, and pop. On the cusp of a cementing yet-to-be-titled sophomore EP, we caught up with Amber to unpack her relationship with musicals, Broadway, acting, performing with Muni Long, Winning Season 8 of The Unmasked Singer, the importance of her#UnMUTEny platform, body politics, future plans, and more for our bodacious cover story instalment.

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