It has always felt like Caroline belayed a lot of unfair misconceptions upon Aminé. It’s not that the rapper isn’t capable of putting out poppy, hilarious hits; it’s that doing it is too easy for him. When he followed up his debut album, Good For You from which Caroline was taken, with ONEPOINTFIVE, it became vibrantly clear that Aminé is a rapper’s rapper. And though 2019 only brought one single, Places + Faces, 2020 is starting off with more Aminé heat.

 

Shimmy lives up to the lyrical and volatile expectation unavoidable with so much homage being paid to Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Between the title, the samples, and the library card album artwork, statements are being made before Aminé even starts rapping. And when he does, it’s a leap away from Caroline-esque hip-pop in favor for a rapper making a brash statement that he can and will dominate anyone else in hip-hop. 

 

It will be interesting to see how he continues growing as one of the most underrated lyricists in hip-hop.