Tracks like “Burden”, “Woodlawn” and “Roots” feature some impressive rhymes and creative lyricism narrating Aminé’s come up or his artistic intentions. This opening movement is defined by strong rapping, which gives way to more singing in the second half. It’s a good tone-setter for the album kicking off its strong opening run. This is evident on the opening track “Burden”, a somewhat tasteful and laid–back cut with an alarming soul wail sampled and looped into the beat, beside the jazzy bassline, twanging guitar and stiff, short drum pattern. Although some of the detours into different genres don’t go over too well, like his eerily accurate Drake impression on the track “Riri”, it’s a versatile listen that straddles the lines between Trap, RnB and more traditional and experimental forms of hip hop quite nicely. Limbo doesn’t outstay its welcome like many albums in its style, and it’s not overly constrained by that style either. However, there are still some areas where more graft might be hoped for in the future. The versatility and humour showcased on Limbo justifiably turned some heads, my own included. Despite his appearance on the 2017 XXL Freshman cover, it has only been with the release of this sophomore record that he has come to be regarded in some circles as a force to be reckoned with in hip hop. It will be exciting to see what he can do next.Portland rapper/singer Adam Aminé Daniel isn’t the sort of artist who had piqued my interest until recently. “Limbo” is Amine’s best work and one of the best rap albums this year. On the album’s last song “My Reality,” Amine sings about how he is living his dream while still trying to figure out life. I wondered if this could be due to the passing of Kobe Bryant as Bryant is mentioned multiple times through songs like “Woodlawn” and the interlude “Kobe,” where Amine explains that Bryant’s death fast forwarded his maturity. Groggs sings “Pray you nothin’ like your daddy, stay away from drugs, I hope I can be half the father that my mama was.” The song is the first released since the death of Groggs which adds to the sadness of the track.Īmine feels more confident and mature on “Limbo” than in his previous releases. Groggs, work together for a song about their future kids and their hopes and fears for them. However, Amine’s lyrics are funny for a lot of the album, including songs like “Pressure in My Palms” where he opens up the song with the lyric “This is Brittany Spears when she was bald.” His lyrics are also clever like on “Burden” when he raps “Wide awake, but comatose, Hollywood’s in overdose, Girls send innuendos I’m in limbo but I know the ropes.”ĭespite being lighthearted at times the album can also be sad like the song “Fetus” where Amine and the rap group Injury Reserve, including the late Stepa J. Sometimes that causes the mood of the song to conflict with the lyrics, like on “Burden” where the hook is “Bury me before I’m a burden” on an incongruous beat. The whole album is fun and easy to listen to despite covering heavy topics. The album has solid and diverse production throughout like the R&B instrumental on “Easy” and “Roots” and the fluty trap beat on “Woodlawn.” “Limbo” is an album about Amine’s influences and the transition from being a kid to becoming an adult. He has also released multiple mixtapes and EP’s since 2014. ![]() Now 26 years old, Amine has been making music since high school, where he attended Benson and made diss tracks against rival schools Lincoln and Grant. ![]() In an interview with Vulture, Amine says “ I needed this much time because the pressure of a sophomore album is real… rappers my age and of this generation are putting out projects like every other week.” There was a reason for the three year gap between albums. “Good For You” was his first album released on July 28, 2017. ![]() ![]() “Limbo” is his best and biggest project yet, pushing him farther into the mainstream and solidifying him as the best rapper to ever come out of Portland. “Limbo” is Portland rap artist Amine’s second album released on August 7, 2020.
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