The Portland, Oregon-bred Adam Aminé Daniel went from an intern at Complex to one of hip-hop’s most notable up-and-coming acts within the culture. Since the release of his debut single, “Caroline,” Aminé went on to release his solo debut LP entitled, Good for You, in July 2017. Aminé’s initial solo effort went on to reach 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 list upon its release.
After a commercially successful debut, the “Campfire” rapper went on to drop another project entitled, OnePointFive the following year. The project was well-received and now for the third consecutive year in a row, the 24-year-old musician is delivering more heat for the masses.
Recently, Aminé dropped two surprise tracks entitled the “Hungry Hippo (Remix)” and the “Hunnybee (Remix).” The initial rendition of “Hungry Hippo” is an original song by Tierra Whack, while the “Hunnybee” instrumental was provided by none other than the Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Breaking Down Aminé’s “Hungry Hippo (Remix)”
This particular track takes on a multitude of minimalistic themes. The simplistic organ riff makes up the entire instrumentation for the song, while the song itself is cut down to a single verse and a chorus and a half. Sonically, Aminé approaches the instrumental in layers of falsetto vocals before getting into his bag of rhymes. The overall mix is well-balanced and should be for the lack of instrumentation on the song.
Contextually, the East African rapper draws in his female fanbase on the chorus before walking listeners through a day-in-the-life of Aminé. He then touches on the lack of financial literacy in the realm of hip-hop. Lastly, Aminé appears to be speaking to how the music industry has changed him from the person he once knew before reentering the song’s chorus and ending.
With that said, listen to the song for yourself in the SoundCloud link provided above.
Breaking Down Aminé’s “Hunnybee (Remix)”
Aminé’s “Hunnybee (Remix)” is a breath of fresh air in a world filled with synthesized instrumentation. The one-off track combines elements of contemporary R&B, Funk, psychedelic rock and hip-hop. The vibes provided by UMO feature a punchy string quartet, a funky bass line and perfectly mixed guitar chords. Not to mention, an in-pocket drum pattern with a perfectly visible hi-hat that keeps the entire track together.
On this particular track, there’s no way Aminé wasn’t gonna have fun with his flow. The “Spice Girl” rapper experimented weaving in and out of pockets of the beat throughout the first verse before performing his best rendition of Justin Timberlake‘s chorus on Snoop Dogg‘s hit song “Signs.” To close out the song, Aminé then showed off his vocal ability before letting the instrumental fade to black.
With that said, listen to the “Hunnybee (Remix) for yourself in the SoundCloud link provided above. And lastly, drop your thoughts on Aminé’s two one-off remix tracks in the comment section below.
Photo by GettyImages