DISCOGRAPHY AUTOPSY: GET DOWN WITH AMINÉ’S UNFILTERED NATURE

by Juliette Eleuterio 6 months ago

by Juliette Eleuterio 6 months ago 5 min

Ever since Aminé hit us with Caroline in 2017, the rapper has continued to deliver tune after tune with his effortless flexing lyrics and funky beats that put their own twist on the classic hip hop style backtrack. The Portland-born rapper dropped out of his marketing university degree to pursue music full time, after releasing a series of mixtapes that are nowhere to be found on major streaming platforms. In person, Aminé has been described as a mellow guy, but on his music, it’s a completely different story, as the rapper knows how to enjoy the finer things in life and in turn, tells us about them.

CAROLINE

Caroline is one of those songs with the transportative power to take us back to summer 2017 when everyone out was out trying to catch a Snorlax on Pokémon Go while the lyrics “Bad thang, fine as hell, thick as fuck / Oh my god, that’s my baby Caroline” were blasting from every speaker within the vicinity.

Technically his debut single after a series of experimental mixtapes that didn’t make it to Spotfiy, Aminé set the tone for the rest of his career with this one. Inspired by Outkast’s Roses, the hip hop artist offers us immaculate vibes with his bravado-filled lyrics, Tarantino reference, and spontaneous beats that became a stepping stone for his album “Good For You”.

REDMERCEDES

Coming off the success of Caroline, Aminé released REDMERCEDES, a track in which the artist is boasting about his new-found fame. Obviously having just purchased a red Mercedes – or at least that’s what Aminé wants us to believe – the rapper can be heard boasting “Attitude like f*ck you, pay me”, showcasing his on-top-of-the-world mindset he had acquired after the release of his chart-topping debut single.

REEL IT IN

A year after the release of his debut album “Good For You”, Aminé dropped “ONEPOINTFIVE”, an album which dives into his adjustment to his new lifestyle post-Caroline, filled with casual flexes and the same fun-beat energy he had previously brought to the table. REEL IT IN quickly became a fan-favourite for its easy-going, animated spirit.

The music video for REEL IT IN was as amusing as the song itself, where the rapper can be seen at a car wash surrounded by good company and vintage cars. The video also features a cameo by Rickey Thompson, who opens up by saying he’s going to get a trim and a full body wax – “and yes it’s painful”.

WOODLAWN

By 2021, Aminé had clearly cemented himself as more than a one-hit-wonder and a force to be reckoned with in the hip hop world, and the first few seconds of Woodlawn’s music video shows just that. With a drone view of a Lambo spelling out “lambo” while doing donuts. Though even through all this excess of fame and money, Aminé remembers where he comes from.

The opening lyrics read “Came a long way from that Woodlawn Park / Now young Aminé pushin’ push to start”, an ode to his home in Portland, OR. Rapping over a flute-infused beat, the rapper is conscious of how far he’s come, but that doesn’t mean he won’t indulge in his new-found perks like “some Prada on my a**” and putting “Chanel on the bag”.

4EVA FT. PHARRELL WILLIAMS

Artists hopping on each other’s tracks is nothing out of the ordinary, but when two artists come together to create an entire joint album, that’s a whole different story. Joining forces with the electronic hip hop fuse artist Kaytranada, the two have created, possibly, the coolest collaborative album name – KAYTRAMINÉ.

In case getting the two powerhouses on the track wasn’t enough, Aminé and Kaytranada brought in Pharrell for their hit song 4EVA. Showing off his French skills, Aminé hops on the track to rap about his unrestrained experiences and encounters with women, as per usual, in a descriptive, graphic manner.