By John Morris, Staff Writer
Aminé puts out fantastic albums. He’s only got two to his name, but they’re both great. While “Good For You” seemed like it would be hard to top, peaking 31 on Billboard 200, 2020’s “Limbo” came in, peaking at 16 and comfortably becoming Aminé’s best work. Aminé is no longer just writing catchy hooks and witty verses, though the artist does make sure to keep his clever charm and refine it in songs like “Pressure In My Palms.” His good-but-not-great production tries out new areas, some of which comes out sounding nice, some of which unfortunately does not. Overall, with this acting as his sophomore album, I am excited to see whatever he has in store next.
“Burden” starts off strong and shows he is attempting (and here and in many instances later on in the album, succeeding) at talking about serious topics. Aminé tackles being Black in America with a distorted, almost-screaming instrumental that caught me incredibly off guard. I fail to think of a track that would be a better opener.
“Woodlawn” marks the first time Aminé worked with two different producers (Yung Lan and James Maddock), and the departure from style is clear. The track isn’t bad, but it definitely feels off just from the type of rap that Aminé is used to making. “Woodlawn” is aggressively decent, being a song I would never skip if it came on, but that I probably won’t go out seeking to play and I’m not rushing to send my friends a link to it.
“Roots” doesn’t feel like a complete track, which is a shame because if it did, it would be fantastic. Featuring a verse from JID and a chorus with Charlie Wilson, it holds up lyrically. If some of the resources put into the instrumental to “Woodlawn ” were assigned here to Aminé’s smooth verse or JID’s excellent-as-always performance, it feels like this song would have done significantly better than it did. While still good, the song feels bittersweet because there was so much that worked about it, and all of that feels like it was wasted.
“Can’t Decide” has a catchy section, but overall isn’t a song I loved all that much. It doesn’t offer much value as a track after listening to it about three times. Perhaps the fun delivery of the second verse is the best part, but even that isn’t worth listening to the rest of the track to get there. Every album needs a skip song to make sure people stay awake when they’re driving.
“Compensating” is one of the better tracks, and it’s one of the first I rush to show others. Aminé’s verse doesn’t reinvent any wheels, and instead makes the first half of the track be reminiscent of “Good For You,” matching the catchiness of songs like “Caroline” and “Spice Girl.” Young Thug’s feature stacks a modern sound onto the song, and it’s very obvious that the two had a lot of fun when making it.
The lead single “Shimmy” could just be the best song on the album. If someone extracted the life out of the best Aminé songs before “Limbo,” combined them in a petri dish, and let the result grow with three years of musical influence, they would get “Shimmy.” It’s my favorite track, though occasionally I wonder if it gets beaten out by the next song.
I get bored listening to music a lot, more than I should for a music reviewer. I am never bored during “Pressure in My Palms,” which is saying something given it’s four minutes. It’s fun, features fun verses from Vince Staples and slowthai, and is sandwiched by some of Aminé best work. Aminé gets his own version of the instrumental to rap on, as there’s a unique shift in the second half of the track that sets anyone up to deliver a fierce track, and Aminé does so with ease. Even if it isn’t the best track (which, honestly, the verdict seems like it could switch at any moment), it is absolutely worth listening and sending to a friend.
“Easy” is fun but nothing all that eventful. It’s a fine track. A dip from style some may love, some may hate, or be where I’m at and be incredibly neutral on it.
“Mama” is good. Even if it was just for the positive vibes this song gives, it deserves it. But this song is fantastic. Give it a listen.
“Becky” doesn’t sound like it belongs on the album. It’s another dip into different territory that isn’t too common for Aminé, but this time it works. Aminé talks about the stigma and issues interracial relationships tend to have in a suave, R&B-influenced way that switches things up.
“Fetus” carries the tone from the last song forward, with Aminé and Injury Reserve all reflecting on the state of the world with a central question on their minds: Is it right to bring life into such a torn world? It’s deeper than I ever expected to see from the album, and it’s even closed by an introspective outro that ponders a bit about what it takes to be happy. The instrumental was good, though with a bit more work it could have excelled this track to the best on the album.
Finally, “My Reality” serves as a good closing song. Continuing the outro, Aminé discusses happiness and creating a life of happiness. It’s solid, but there could have been some more with it.
“Limbo” as a whole really does feel like Aminé’s sophomore album, and it feels like one of the better ones. It’s great in a lot of places, and then almost-great seemingly in more. For all the insignificant tracks, there are two or three songs I’d put on a list of the best songs to come out of the year, which is very significant given how competitive 2020 has been for hip-hop and music as a whole. It shows though that despite being young and still a bit green, Aminé is someone to keep watching. Now that he didn’t get caught up in a sophomore slump, it’ll be exciting to watch where the artist goes now.
