Three singles were released in the lead-up to Aminé’s newest album and all of which were, in short, brilliant, and showed a slight divergence away from the sound the rapper has shown on his last two records. While the jury is still out on whether Limbo is the second or third album from Aminé as the 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE was labelled something of an unofficial mixtape (despite receiving the same treatment as regular album), what is clear is that this album shows the rapper more mature than ever, making tracks that have a consistent confidence; a polish that has been lost and found since his debut album Good For You. This isn’t to say confidence was completely absent on his previous albums, or that he’s left his trademark introspection behind completely, but both have evolved on Limbo.

What is clear is that this album shows the rapper more mature than ever

The album shows Aminé’s versatility better than ever, switching from sultry R&B on tracks like ‘Easy’ to utilising some incredible old-school beats on ‘Burden’ and ‘Woodlawn,’ which serve as the openers of the album. The former sounds like something straight out of the early 2000s with its slow beat and a sample of someone wailing that punctuates every few lines. The wailing takes some warming up to but generally works well with the track, much like the flute on ‘Woodlawn,’ which has proven to be an immediate fan favourite as it became the first off the album to enter Spotify’s top 50 streamed US songs on the day of it’s release. In the long run of the album the fan favourites will definitely vary, reflecting the variety on the album and the unfailingly good lyricism from Aminé across the project. It’s tempting to say the best bars on the album come in the fun, boastful third verse of ‘Pressure In My Palms,’ and while they are good, the lines are undoubtedly elevated by the mildly disappointing features from Slowthai and Vince Staples in the second verse that feel regrettably unfinished, to the point where the four-line outro from Jak Knight is more entertaining. This is especially unfortunate considering the collaboration between Aminé and Slowthai on recent disclosure track, ‘My High,’ the energy on which will secure its status as a certified banger for years to come. 

Though the harder, more classically rap-focused tracks on the album are some of the best on the radio right now, Aminé is at his best when he’s tackling more personal subjects

Though the harder, more classically rap-focused tracks on the album are some of the best on the radio right now, Aminé is at his best when he’s tackling more personal subjects. The heartfelt songs in this album come in many different forms, the first being his dedication to his mother on ‘Mama,’ a song reminiscent of Kanye West’s ‘Family Business’ and 2Pac’s ‘Dear Mama,’ even citing the latter in the second verse. Another dedication, this time to the late great Kobe Bryant, appears on the album in the spoken word track ‘Kobe’ – so quietly heartbreaking that personally this is the only spoken word track/skit I’ve never skipped – with references to Kobe making several other appearances. 

Much of the reflection in Aminé’s music is about internal issues, however in Limbo he turns to issues that toe the border between personal and societal. This includes his life experiences as a Black man, evident from the first verse of ‘Burden’ which opens with “when your skin darker, shit gets harder” and delved into deeper in ‘Roots’ and especially ‘Becky’ which tells of the trials and tribulations of being in an interracial couple. Whether the story in ‘Becky’ comes directly from Aminé’s own life is unknown but it shows strong empathy either way as he talks about the struggles of dealing with the friends and families of both parties in the relationship, and its eventual demise because the obstacles are too vast. Aminé splits his time between rapping and singing on the track as he also does in ‘Can’t Decide,’ once more exhibiting his ability in both areas and resulting in something soulfully melodic.

‘Fetus’ is potentially the most touching track on the album, made so by the pessimistic worldview Aminé shows when considering the state of the world that he’d be bringing a hypothetical child into and featuring artist Injury Reserve’s fear for the future, if they’ll be good parents, if they’ll be ‘half the father that my mama was’ as Stepa J. Groggs hopes in the second verse. These considerations are made more painful as Groggs, a father of four himself, passed away at the end of June. Not only is this tragic in its own right but brings all the fears presented on the track into reality, the only hope coming from the knowledge that Groggs was a wonderful father to his children and, according to Nick Herbert’s twitter account, he was thankful that he and the other Injury Reserve members finally got to be on an Aminé album after years of being frequent collaborators. 

Limbo is the mark of someone who has been in the game for a while and fully intends to stay in it. It is the project that will keep Aminé around for years to come, the project that has confirmed him as an established artist, versatile and skilled, able to turn any attempt into a success.

Rating: 8/10

Limbo is available now via Republic Records

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