limbo (deluxe) - aminé

Aminé... the wildcard. I have been a consistent fan of his for the past four years, and am proud of the progression of his artistry. So when Limbo, and the successor Limbo (Deluxe) albums dropped, I knew I was going to be satisfied for years to come. Today I unleash before you, the beast of a review that is my Limbo album review! Before I get into specifics, let me do a debrief on my general thoughts. The album sequencing was fantastic. This does not mean that every song flowed perfectly into the next, but that the songs placed side-by-side made sense. The overall album carried a rugged style. It featured a host of summer anthems, including Compensating and Riri. The rollout built up a lot of hype for the album, amongst Aminé megafans like myself, and new listeners. I, for one, even woke up early on the day of its release to experience it as soon as possible. Yes, I have been digesting this album, at least the pre-deluxe edition, for almost two years, and have finally grappled with it enough to provide a good review. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Mrs. Clean

I particularly love that this was produced by Pierre Bourne! I have never heard Aminé collab with such a huge producer before, and it made me really proud of how hard he has come, and what is in store for him. It was very catchy, and I loved the beat (totally not biased because it’s Pierre). It was a great intro for the deluxe album. Note, the intro for the regular album is very different, but I specifically wanted to review this one because it has more songs and therefore the opportunity to explore more aspects of his sound.

Zack & Cody

The last track I heard from Valee was Womp Womp back in 2019, so this was certainly a different sound from him, it was certainly a collaboration with a very different genre of artist. Despite not hearing from him in quite some time, and not being the biggest fan of Valee's music, I pleasantly enjoyed this collaboration, and thought the hook was extremely catchy. This is a pattern you will notice across the album.

Gelato

I loved the beat on this track, it felt very animated. and fun (especially the flute/recorder noise in the background, kind of sounds like a whistle, and it hits that part of your brain, if you know what I am referring to). It included very cheeky wordplay, as expected from Aminé. Some of the lyrics are paced so quickly that you may not even notice that he is using wordplay until after you listen to it a few times, and I really like songs where I get to study the lyrics in a sense. For example, the bar “I’m Damian Lillard I'm running the game, NBA.”

Talk

Every time I have on headphones, the bass in the beginning part sounds especially deep, and gets me hype for the journey ahead. This hosts two of my favorite artists on one track… need I say more? Again, the WORDPLAY here makes the song such a fun listen, because I am seeking out references to things I know. He makes a Wolf of Wall Street reference, for all my film and finance nerds out there! The overarching guitar riff is great; it is very simple, but pleasing to the ear. Of course, Saba’s presence, as on any song with him on it, is greatly appreciated, and he brings a hint of new flavor to the track. This is for sure one of my favorite songs on the album.

Chicken

I was not a huge fan of the beat on this one, it was not definitely something I usually listen to, however I can’t hate on it from this alone. The hook isn’t too bad, to be honest, it is the best part of the song. I am not sure if Aminé uses autotune, but not properly, on this track, but there is something a little off-putting about his cadence, and I don’t typically come back to this song. Toosii’s verse on the track isn’t that bad, but it definitely does not fit the beat; it feels like the beat belongs more to a pop song or maybe even a country record, but definitely not the song it was actually made for. And Toosii sounds more trap than the genre of alternative rap overlapping with regular hip-hop that I would put Aminé in, so it overall just doesn’t mesh well. However, it is not a bad song, I just don’t really like how it was constructed, and therefore tend to skip it when I do full album playthroughs.

Buzzin

Unlike Chicken, this song takes a different road compared to Aminé’s regular songs, but I actually like it. It sounds like a melodic R&B song, and maybe Aminé uses autotune here too, but I don’t mind on this track; it sounds great with the very simple instrumental and makes me want to belt out the lyrics. The Unknown Mortal Orchestra vocals were AMAZING, I have never heard of them before listening to this, but it was an enjoyable experience.

Solid

Honestly, I don’t have a lot of thoughts on this song. It sounds like a typical Aminé track, and it is a nice listen for any activity. It is the last song that was a new addition to the album with the drop of the deluxe edition, and it closes of that section of the project nicely. I am not entirely sure if he sampled something in the background, but the woman singing sounds very nice.

Burden

My friend and I used to blast this song on my speaker in the mornings while getting ready; this song is so different from anything I have heard from Aminé, and the beat is so raw, it sounds like a 90s rap song, specifically in the subject matter and the instrumental choice, of course. Aminé does this on few tracks, but he addresses political matter subtly, and if you’re too busy dancing you’ll miss it. The statements he does make are powerful in their conciseness. When someone talks about moving their shoulders side to side, this is the type of song they mean; it embodies the shoulder sway.

Woodlawn

This song has a beat that sounds very different from what I usually hear from Artists like Aminé, but I really enjoyed it. It reminds me of the beat used on DaBaby's track Red Light Green Light. He pays tribute to Kobe Bryant’s passing on this track, and on the next one (an interlude, which I don’t review), which was very respectful of him (please note that the album, pre-deluxe edition, was released shortly after his passing). This is one of the tracks from the album that I have every word memorized for, I REALLY take on Aminé’s persona when I hear this song. I even got my entire family to learn this song, this shows my dedication!

Kobe (Interlude) 

No review here.

Roots

Now this song, I have had a lot of friends tell me it sounds weird and that they would never listen to it. However, I actually really like it. It sounds like a style that an alternative rap artist like Tyler, The Creator would employ. Again, his wordplay shines through on this track. He uses a strange cadence here, but it is actually very pleasant to listen to. At the time when this iteration of the album came out, I was kind of having an identity crisis–I wasn’t sure where I belonged in this world, and this song (no pun intended) kept me grounded. There is no intense deeper meaning, but that’s the beauty of music, I just liked the song, and it kept me afloat. The Charlie Wilson hook is TANTALIZING!!! I love this song a lot especially because of that aspect of it And who can forget the amazing JID verse? If you guys do not listen to him yet, you are doing yourself a disservice. He is such a versatile artist, and his features are especially great. His verse here complements the mood surrounding the track, as he is an artist who also has a special way with enunciation (he emphasizes the endings of his words at times, which creates a unique sound)

Can’t Decide

When you turn on this song, if you’re not a huge Aminé fan, you might recognize the sample from J. Cole’s song Pride is the Devil (to clear up any misconception: the sample is not from Cole’s track, rather, both artists sampled the riff). However, I actually prefer Aminé implementation of the sample rather than Cole’s, it feels like it doesn’t take itself too seriously and just lets itself be. The concept of counting down or up in a song is not a new concept, but Aminé executes it very well, keeping it simple and, in theme with the rest of the album, catchy.

Compensating

Compensating… the track I rushed home from the store to listen to the second the music video dropped. This is my mom’s favorite song off of the album, and you can only imagine how many times that means I’ve heard it! It was instantly a classic for me, and I dubbed it my Song of The Summer in 2020, it was almost cathartic for me during lockdown. The feature from Young Thug was very fun and will lead to you attempting a two-step, indefinitely. There is something very simple about the choice of beats by Aminé–a music student may laugh them off as incredibly simple, and similarly dismiss my opinion, but the simplicity is the cherry on top for me. When an artist is able to do something simple well, it just makes them a stronger artist in my eyes.

Shimmy

This song came out as a single before the album was released, and it was a very hype piece to the album rollout. The beat reminds me of something off of Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 album To Pimp A Butterfly, specifically King Kunta/Alright. On this track, Aminé has a message to his haters, to leave him alone and to he takes time to embellish his accomplishments, signifying how the year (2020 at the time) will be his year to dominate the music industry, and at least for us Aminé fans, this statement held true.

Pressure In My Palms

Again, Aminé takes the art of collaboration and makes it very special. The combination of artists is interesting: I never thought I would see a track featuring Aminé, Vince Staples, and slowthai… ever. Not even in one hundred years. However, I wasn’t as perturbed by it as I might appear to be. In fact, this song was great! It was another standout on the album, where Aminé was certainly more experimental, varying his genre and beats from ONEPOINTFIVE and Good For You. It was refreshing to hear such different sounds from him, and what sounded like a significant leap out of his comfort zone. For me, it was definitely a strange sound, but one that had me making the “this song slaps” face, you guys know the one. The beat change towards the end of the song where Aminé comes back in makes the song that much better, and adds to what makes it so different, but so great!

Riri

This was another track that was released before the entire album as a single. The music video for this song made me love it even more; it featured Aminé with his long-time best friends (as many of his videos do) but again, I come back to the simplicity in his artistry, the video was not elaborate or anything, but pretty normal in terms of set design and overall extravagance. The lyrics don’t actually hold too much weight, but they are fun, as many of his lyrics are, and therefore memorable. For me, music does not need some sort of intrinsic meaning to be good, so a lot of his tracks resonate with me for that reason.The hook of a woman singing definitely adds to making this song one of my favorites from 2020, it is tantalizing. 

Easy

Okay, a lot of people actually did not like this track. And I didn’t mind it to be quite frank. However, critics of it are not wrong in saying that it doesn’t bring anything new to the seductive R&B song genre. Summer Walker’s vocals here are great as always, and I generally enjoy listening to the track. However, it should be noted that I did not add it to any of my playlists, because I just did not find it memorable. For this reason, I would consider it one of the “worse” tracks on the project, but again, like most songs I would give this ranking to, it is because they are painfully average. Not that they are bad.

Mama

I have a soft spot for when artists make tracks like this, so regardless of its perceived corniness, it makes my heart swell. A fun little bit of trivia: I brought my speaker to my mom’s room and blasted this song on the Mother’s Day morning. Take this life hack and apply it to your own life! I don’t have a whole lot to say about the track, but it is very sweet! Now, I don’t listen to it every day, and I don’t recall adding it to any of my playlists, but whenever you want to think about how much you love your moms, this is the track to do it to. The Charlie Wilson vocals are impeccable, as they always are, and the hook is so catchy and cheery!

Becky

This song is like an enemies-to-lovers romance story; I absolutely despised it at first, and then I somehow ended up adding it to a playlist. Aminé belts melodically about interracial romances and the struggles in the modern world. Now, at first I just listened to what one of my ex-favorite music reviewers said about it, and mindlessly regurgitated that same opinion after only listening to it once. However, the melody on the track, the vocals, and the overall message are superb, genuinely. I am glad I found my own music opinions and stopped listening to generally pretentious voices, because it opened my eyes to the versatility of Aminé as an artist, especially on this track.

Fetus

Initially, the instrumental made me incredibly uncomfortable. In fact, it still kind of does. However, this is not necessarily a negative aspect of the song. Rather, it enhances the message behind the song (this is one of those songs that has a political meaning, and it addresses it very well). Aminé questions his own morality in bringing forth into a world he himself does not feel safe in. The song speaks about the troubles of having a child at the time, in 2020, during such stressful times, with the crimes happening globally and the pressures put onto adults in their twenties, people who still are waiting to experience their own lives and may not have the funds to have children. The song is timeless, and will be relevant for years to come. The uncomfortable squeaking noise in the background diminishes as the song progresses, symbolizing the listener becoming more accepting of the discomfort the song emits, as such is reality. I really like this track, because it deals with a topical issue in a format that I enjoy

My Reality

All of my previous dorm-mates will know this song, because it was my song of choice for every weekend morning shower, rumbling through my small black speaker. The song describes my stance on success, and is very comforting to listen to in times where I feel lost regarding where I am going in life. It motivates me to pursue my dreams, especially in a world where following your passion is stigmatized as a fantasy, and you are forced onto the path dubbed reality. This was in my top played songs every year from the second it dropped, which is quite telling regarding how much I love it!

Aminé is my favorite artist, if this long-winded review didn’t give that much away. I believe he will continue to grow artistically and consistently release increasingly experimental tracks, which I look forward to seeing! This was quite the review. For the first time, I reviewed the songs individually! Please give me feedback, letting me know if you guys liked this format. Thank you for stopping by, see you next Monday!