The Portland rapper’s buoyant new project sounds like a controlled sugar rush, folding elements of pop and dance into his bright raps.
Sunniness has always been a part of Aminé’s image. His 2017 breakout hit, the horny summer anthem “Caroline,” was propelled by synths, drums, and cowbells as warm and yellow as the shorts he’s wearing in the song’s music video. Armed with a sense of humor befitting a millennial raised on TRL and Quentin Tarantino movies, the Portland rapper often uses levity and bouncy melodies to keep even his heaviest songs afloat. Take his 2020 sophomore album Limbo, which conspicuously focused on legacy: “If I die, roll out the yellow carpet/if you fuck with me,” Aminé says on the opener, “Burden.” Whether contemplating death or the responsibility of having kids, he can’t help but throw the gauntlet down with at least a smirk.
Considering all this, it’s no surprise that Aminé would follow his most introspective album with a concentrated burst of color like TWOPOINTFIVE. The sequel to 2018’s ONEPOINTFIVE—both of which are snarkily dubbed as “EP/LP/mixtape/album” to prod at the nebulous nature of retail rap projects in 2021—maintains the low stakes of the first while tinkering with the formula that led him to stardom in the late 2010s. If Aminé’s 2017 debut album Good For You was sunny, TWOPOINTFIVE is saccharine enough to cause tooth decay. The beats, primarily handled by producers Lido and longtime collaborator Pasqué, fold elements of pop and dance into Aminé’s bright raps that jolt and jive on the border of chaos. TWOPOINTFIVE sounds like a controlled sugar rush, an experiment as short, sweet, and stretchy as a fun-size piece of Laffy Taffy.
Critics and fans have compared TWOPOINTFIVE to hyperpop, and the project does contain examples of the burgeoning microgenre. Giddy synths and bells zoom and splash on songs like “Colors” and lead single “Charmander,” and there’s plenty of pitch-shifted vocals and offhand pop culture references. The difference is that much of what’s considered hyperpop is jagged and harsh, turning its syrupy sound palette into audible rock candy. For all the compression and chirpiness, TWOPOINTFIVE is too clean, its drum programming deep, smooth, and firmly rooted in contemporary rap. It honors the scene’s energy without fully conforming to its principles and will most likely serve as a gateway to edgier work for curious fans destined to spend hours laughing at Hyperpop Daily posts.
So it isn’t exactly 100 gecs or Glaive, but Aminé still covers a considerable amount of ground in just under a half-hour. The fast and loose nature of the POINTFIVE series—accented by interludes from comedian and returning host Rickey Thompson—lends itself more naturally to the sugary aesthetic on display in TWO than the drab and hollow atmosphere of ONE. Lyrically, he’s focused on sexcapades (“YiPiYaY”), taking care of his people (“Dididumduhduh”), and securing his bag (“Mad Funny Freestyle”). “Colors,” a glimpse into isolation and loneliness, is the exception to the project’s rule. Otherwise, he’s crooning about sipping Casamigos on a boat near George Clooney’s house over the synthetic marching horns of “NEO” and being with women crawling on the floor like NAVY Seals on “Mad Funny Freestyle.” There’s little pressure to focus on the weighty themes of Limbo, and it offers him room to climb through Lido and Pasqué’s elaborate playhouses without restraint.
The POINTFIVE series is ultimately a lark, a series of “creative freedom projects,” as Aminé recently told Billboard. Nevertheless, TWOPOINTFIVE is an improvement on the original. There’s a sense of life and wonder in these songs, with Aminé and his collaborators lightly bouncing against their boundaries like pinballs. It may be slight by design, but TWOPOINTFIVE understands that “low stakes” doesn’t have to mean running in place.
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