Written by Casey Willis

Aminé is back with his first full-length project since 2018… once again, he doesn’t disappoint. During an interview earlier this week, he expounded on his growth as an artist through maturation and finding a sense of personal identity through music.   His unique “utterly himself” style envelopes the sound waves on each track of Limbo, quickly throwing his name into the “Album of the Year” conversation. Intermingled through this album are flowing bars and grooving melodies that have become the general expectation of Aminé albums.

As Limbo progresses, the tone slides further into a familiar vibe, for those that have delved in Aminé albums in the past: the exploration of life and feelings. Limbo first mirrors the presumption of well-roundedness, and then blows it out of the water. The groove factor is off the charts with this project, and then he reels the listener back in with his innate ability to get real. The interesting juxtaposition between difference and similarity from the opening tracks Burden and Woodlawn to the songs Mama and Becky is a prime example of this assertion.

Burden opens the album with an “out of the box” beat that is quickly revealed as the perfect melody to begin this project. Odd, but, when meshed with the life-immitating bars that Aminé puts on display, could not be more spot on. Woodlawn asserts Aminé’s full growth from his Portland, OR roots to his current standing as an annually growing artist. The death of Kobe Bryant, a common theme throughout Limbo, is first asserted in Woodlawn, setting an interesting tone for the rest of the album.

Mama is as expected based on the title: an ode to his mother for her sacrifices and undying support of him as a person and as an artist. Through this track he vocalizes an aspect of life that is unending in the human struggle: the desire for the affection and approval of our parents. Becky is centered around a relationship that Aminé is involved in with a white girl. The subject of the song is an interesting one, given the current social situation in the US right now. In an entirely unique fashion, it appoints a measure of racial and social togetherness that has been sought after. Through Aminé’s experience, the listeners receive a fresh perspective of how these differences are perceived and overcome from a societal perspective.