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For many people, youth is viewed as a time of freedom, growth, experience and discovery. From the time of being a teenager with the entire world at one's feet, to be a young adult navigating through life's early phases, there are many advantages that come from that stage and what someone can experience from those moments. For some, that transition into adulthood comes easy, with minimal stress and opposition in their way. But for many young people, life presents mental hurdles that can take years to identify, understand and control before things become too hectic. The battle with mental health, including depression and anxiety can easily derail one's day to day lifestyle. However, with the right help and support, one can live happily while continuing to fight for the enjoyment of life. Having an outlet or a passion helps as well, and often one can find themselves while living out that passion and their dreams.
Portland, Oregon based MC Aminé has navigated himself into an impressive career path at such a young age for an established artist. At only 26 years old, he has managed to make the absolute most of every opportunity and, no cliché intended, only has his best days ahead of him. His rise to household name status came through a truly organic come up. He released two mixtapes between 2014 and 2015, to which he gained an underground buzz, but remained a relative unknown to most of the hip-hop world. However, rap music is a genre based off moments, and Aminé made sure to take advantage of his moment when it arrived. In March of 2016, he would release the hit single Caroline, which in a little over one year's time, would be certified platinum 3x over and considered one of the decade's biggest hip-hop records.
Following the success of that breakthrough record, Aminé signed a major label deal and was selected as an XXL Freshman for 2017, a class in which one can make the case that he is the most successful member of. That summer he would release his anticipated debut studio album, Good For You. Like many debut projects, there is a feeling of excitement as well as a search for the right sound, as features from the likes of Nelly, Ty Dolla $ign, Offset and Kehlani contribute to the effort of a young upstart trying to find his niche in the hip-hop game. The following year, a more well-rounded effort from Amine would take place with the 2018 mixtape ONEPOINTFIVE, a short and trap-production centric project that simply reinforced the young MC's lyrical capability. Gunna, Rico Nasty and G Herbo all blend effortlessly on their respective features, which speaks to a great ear for production and who it properly fits in order to make a song work. However, the clear standout track is the playful and bouncy REEL IT IN, which easily became of the summer's best tracks in 2018. More noticeable than the success of his commercial efforts, was that it seemed that Aminé was growing in consistency, presence and confidence with each release, a sign of a MC coming into their own. That process can't be undermined, and for the talented artists it can lead to a breakthrough effort.
On August 7, 2020, Aminé would release his second studio album Limbo, under Republic Records. Only 14 tracks and 44 minutes of run time, the album stays consistent with his tendency of short projects. However, this second LP is easily his most introspective, lyrical, focused an dynamic, with seemingly a song provided for every common emotion and setting. The introductory track Burden is a classic intro, with a visit into the upbringing that brought the young artist to where he currently is. The instrumental from Darondo's soulful track Thank You God sticks out as clear as any of the bars, and there are plenty to appreciate as Aminé dedicates the track to his home, to black people and his friends, who he often references throughout the album. The subsequent track Woodlawn his a free flowing and boastful hometown anthem, where he acknowledges just how the journey has played out given where he grew up. That breeds confidence one of the album's more fun and relaxing moments.
Moving forward, the album's pace and tempo changes into more of an introspective and personalized tone. The interlude Kobe is an account from one of Aminé's friends that echoes the sentiments of many young adults who were impacted by the lost of one of the world's more impactful icons. As sobering and saddening as the interlude is due to the memories it invokes, it's also another reminder of just how so many people were connected to such a special talent and person. Perfectly sequenced after that interlude is perhaps the album's most vulnerable moment in the soulful track Roots, highlighted by a guest verse from Dreamville label artist JID and the unmatched vocals of R&B/Soul legend Charlie Wilson, whose guest feature catalog deserves much more credit than it has received. The trio deliver a song that celebrates the core of one's heritage, their makeup and their growth as they attempt to leave their impact on the world as they sit fit. "Eritrea, Ethiopia, Habesha utopia" stands out as a line Aminé uses to proudly acknowledge his background and the people he represents as he spreads his message, rhyming exceptionally while doing so. It's a clear standout track and perhaps the album's best.
As the project progresses, the focus often shifts between uncertainty and self-confidence, which for many young people, is not as strange or uncommon of a parallel as it seems. The pop/R&B fueled Can't Decide is a classic case of one wanting and desiring that one person and feeling that is probably not the best option for them. It is funny, catchy and heavily relatable, as Aminé shows his range as not only a lyrical MC, but a well-rounded and secure individual. On Compensating, the second single release for the project, he takes another common relationship scenario and adds a modern hip-hop sound too. His monotone delivery combined with his high-pitched singing sounds tailormade over T-Minus's upbeat production. Young Thug assists with a verse featuring his signature style of unique wordplay and metaphors, stamping one of the highlight tracks of album. The next two tracks completely change the mood and tempo, starting with the first single release of the project. Shimmy could very well be one of Aminé's most impressive tracks to date, and if not for the writing or the delivery, simply the respect paid for one of hip-hop's most respected MC's. As he rhymes about 2020 being his year, the lack of bars from other MC's and wanting respect for his style, the vocals of the late Wu-Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard channel through the track. True old-school hip-hop fans can appreciate such a young MC paying homage to a legend from a previous generation.
The seoond half of the album includes more of the softer side of Aminé's artistry, dominated with songs dedicated to figuring how to navigate the ideas of love and appreciation, and not just in the form of dating. He comes to his senses regarding a longtime love interest on Riri, a third single off the album. After giving multiple chances to this woman, she proves that she is no more than someone underserving of the attention and appreciation she was receiving. His failed relationship gets a much more compassionate and sensitive approach on the calming and honest duet titled Easy. R&B sensation Summer Walker lends her impressive vocals to a track emphasizing not taking any of the love one gets in their life for granted, a standout moment of the entire record. The simply titled but powerful Mama is as a direct as the title suggests. A beautiful ode to his own mother, Aminé thanks his mother for her support and unrelenting love, never leaving his side as he continues to figure out life, straying away but never forgetting about the woman who sacrificed so much for him to become a successful young man. It goes without saying that the song invokes emotion for anyone who has a mother or motherly figure in their life.
As Limbo reaches its conclusion, a trio of tracks gives this impressive project its proper finish. The racially charged and brutally honest track Becky is a personal account of how a young black man's worldview is impacted by the day to day rejection of the white race. That view is even highlighted by his own parents, who would not support a potential relationship with a woman of that race. The song is sobering, as it details the exact sentiments of hundreds of thousands of minority-lead households who have to fear for how the world sees not only themselves, but their children, usually without knowing a single thing about them. The song Fetus takes that same sentiment of fear for one's future children and amplifies it, as the underground hip-hop duo Injury Reserve, consisting of MC's Ritchie With a T and the late Stepa J. Groggs, aid in a song that preaches caution about raising a child in a world as unpredictable as the one they live in now. Lastly, My Reality is the realization that a dream is no longer, and that the lifestyle that a young kid grew up fantasizing is now their everyday lifestyle. And at only 26 years old, there is a solid chance that young man has a chance to make those dreams last for a lifetime.
Aminé may still not be in the typical barbershop style conversation of "Best MC's in the game" or whatever fictional list music fans and critics love to come up with, but listening to his music, his message and his wordplay, there is no denying that he is one of the most talented artist that hip-hop has to offer. He also has no issue highlighting his insecurity, anxiety and the fact that he is not a finished project, that he is still growing and maturing despite his early success in life. More importantly than anything else, is that he appears to be one of more upstanding voices in a generation that has chosen to take up the plights of their own people, and be a light for those who need someone who looks like them to speak on the injustices happening in the world daily. Limbo is the most appropriate album for life in 2020, unpredictable with no indication of which way it will end up. This latest effort by one of the next generation's star MC's shows that there is no need to fit into a stereotype or one particular lane, because when you're talented, you set the trend, you don't follow it.
Top 5 Songs:
Roots
Woodlawn
Shimmy
Burden
Becky
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