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Molding his alternative rap subgenre that became increasingly popular over the past couple years, Portland rapper Aminé has been placing himself on the map ever since 2017, when his mega-hit “Caroline” peaked at 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After four successful projects, with his most recent being “TWOPOINTFIVE,” he is now collaborating with groovy Canadian producer Kaytranada for what looks to be an experimental masterpiece.

Partnering with other alternative rappers in the past such as GoldLink and IDK, Kaytranada has paved the way for house beats and breathtaking remixes while also linking up with rappers, R&B talents and working on his own projects. His first album release, “99.9%,” was his first featured showcase on working with artists not influenced by the house genre, with his journey now continuing to this point with Aminé.

The duo announced its album “Kaytraminé” on April 5, with an expected release date of May 12.

Kaytranada

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and growing up in Quebec, Canada, Kaytranada began sampling music through FL Studio and mastering his production skills at the age of 14. In 2010, when his producing journey started, he went by the name Kaytradamu, before officially changing it to his current name two years later.

Despite dropping many pieces of work before “99.9%,” this was labeled his debut album, with the past parts of his discography being singles, mixtapes or unreleased performances away from streaming platforms.

Receiving seven award nominations from the debut project in which he corralled GoldLink, Vic Mensa, Anderson Paak and others for the album while stepping out of his comfort zone.

Signed to RCA Records for his second installment of his career “Bubba,” his growth in the industry continued to bloom, pairing big name artists to hypnotic, transformative house beats.
Pharell and Kali Uchis were among the huge names that hopped on “Bubba,” which would go onto win Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, his first major win besides many Canadian awards.

Uchis’ and Kaytranada’s single “10%” would also go on to take home a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, again proving how he has skyrocketed to the top of the producer pyramid.

Kaytranada will now instill his funky house instrumentals on “Kaytraminé.” Expect a mix between the flavorful, bouncy instrumentals from recent tracks like “Intimidated,” featuring H.E.R., but also the mellow, drowned out ones we heard on his “Out of Time” remix with The Weeknd.

Aminé is a versatile artist that will be able to mesh well with Kaytranada’s house work, especially since he did so much experimental work on his 2021 project “TWOPOINTFIVE.”

Aminé

Being debatably the most successful rapper to come out of Portland, Aminé’s 2016-2017 run with “Caroline” and his project “Good for You” set the tone for the one-of-a-kind, recognizable vocals he possesses.

At such an early stage of his career, he was already working with Offset, Kehlani and Ty Dolla $ign, who all appeared on his first project.

When he released “ONEPOINTFIVE” in 2018 his more experimental side came out, but he also made sure to to deliver hip-hop anthems such as “REEL IT IN,” one of his most popular singles to this date, and “HICCUP” with Gunna.

The experimental side of his second studio album can be found through “SUGARPARENTS,” featuring Rico Nasty, who has a lot of the same alternative, quirky elements as Aminé. “SUGARPARENTS” sets up a lot of the sounds on what we hear from his follow up “TWOPOINTFIVE.”

Sandwiched in between those two projects was “Limbo,” his 2020 project that was his highest charting piece, soaring up to 16 on the Billboard 200 List. Tracks “Woodlawn” and his Yong
Thug collaboration “Compensating” displays his hip-hop side, while much of the album pushes his R&B, alternative and melodic elements.

A member of the 2017 XXL Freshman Class, Aminé is one of the most intriguing members of the hip-hop community, with similar artists like IDK and Vince Staples encompassing a lot of the same stylistic sound components.

Besides features for “Kaytraminé,” it is anticipated that Aminé will be supplying a majority of the vocals over Kaytranada’s production, with rapping over interesting instrumentals being a continuous theme in his discography.

The hype will continue to circulate for the next month, but “Kaytraminé” is expected to be an interesting listen that could hold some more big name features like Pharrell.

Published on April 12, 2023 at 11:59 pm