On Nov. 5th, Portland rapper Aminé released his latest album, Two Point Five. A new wave R&B/hip-hop hybrid, this new album is a shift from the initial sound that brought him such notability. Some tracks on the project go back to his earlier rap sound, but those tracks have an alternative sound that focuses more on melodic choruses than being overly lyrical.
At the start of his career in rap music, it was obvious Aminé was not overly serious about making music. His sound in Good for You was poppy and catchy, trying to vie for publicity and make hits. “Caroline” was one of his first hits, garnering him the attention to make his debut album have the success that it did. It was a pop hit, possibly the reason the album has the pop sound. His other hit off of the album was “Spice Girl,” in which he showcased his vocal ability, but again used his pop sound as a crutch.
After Aminé had commercial success with his debut album, we could see him start to step out of the realm of poppy trap beats and could see more funk or R&B style tracks being released by the rapper.
Aminé released his sophomore project, One Point Five, out of nowhere; it was a shock to everyone. The album showcased the revival of his original sound, but also a renewal. The Portland rapper, still fairly fresh in the game, created a fairly concise project, one that has become a trademark.
As Aminé showcased in his song, “DR. WHOEVER,” he now had the lyrical chops to pivot to a more poetic, or perhaps just more lyrical songwriting style. The song reveals the rapper’s underlying talent that audiences were still being introduced to as his career still continued to blossom.
However, this isn’t to say the rapper neglected his fun-loving, carefree persona he creates in his songs. This album is all over the place, but it’s one of his better albums in that it is at the same time concise and it acknowledges the start of the rapper’s new sound.
A few years later, the young artist released his third studio album, Limbo. This was a confusing one for most, as it muddied the waters as to where the rapper was taking his sound. It seemed that this was more of a new wave boom bap album that saw features from the likes of J.I.D and Vince Staples.
That’s not to say these two artists make solely boom-bap-sounding music, but their delivery is very old school in the production of certain tracks. In truth, the whole project isn’t old school; the album is fairly all over the place, something that was disappointing but doesn’t take away from the overall quality. The album is very hard-hitting and lyrically sound. Aminé delivers storylines through his lyrics that are so uniquely his own, it’s hard to discredit the lyrics of a singular project.
Limbo is soulful, something that is fairly unseen on any other project he’s released. Other than a few tracks on his previous projects, Aminé never provides very heartfelt delivery on tracks. His tracks usually focus on getting high and living lavishly, which follows the algorithm for modern rap albums. What comes next on the rapper's short discography shows yet another side of this rapper’s sound.
As introduced, Aminé recently released his fourth studio album. It’s a particularly wild project in not only the production or the lyrical quality, but also the way in which the album has been branded.
Aminé delivers fairly hyper rap-sounding tracks on Two Point Five, which might be an overall branding change for the rapper as a whole, or could just be the rapper trying to transform his sound in another playful album.
Whatever the case may be, the album is as playful and all over the place as can be; playful lyrics and productions have become part of Aminé’s brand. The Portland rapper knows how to make music people can be happy listening to.
While his music isn’t necessarily very deep or awe-evoking, it is very fun, something that draws a lot of fans in. Aminé knows how to deliver in many ways, and the areas that he may not are almost unnoticeable.
The rapper has explored just about every sound possible, and his sound has transformed with every project he’s put out. For this reason, it’s hard to assess what he’ll try next, but comes next, you can count on music that makes you smile and dance.
