TWOPOINTFIVE

by Aminé

Released November 5, 2021

Reviewed November 15, 2021

Top tracks (based on community voting)

Charmander (71%), Colors (39%), Between the Lines (22%)

TWOPOINTFIVE, much like its in-between album predecessor (ONEPOINTFIVE), more than serves its intended purpose. It allows Aminé to challenge himself creatively by crafting bars over new soundscapes, while exploring new ideas that he can perfect for his next LP. TWOPOINTFIVE dives heavily into more synthy, almost hyperpop territory, and it provides for an interesting contrast with Aminé’s raspier cadence. Aminé is showing that not only is he willing to try riskier sounds, but also that he’s pretty good at adapting to anything put in front of him. TWOPOINTFIVE is an excellent appetizer to what will certainly be an interesting third full length project. – Pablo (8.5/10)

TWOPOINTFIVE is a deliciously dope listen, with Aminé steadily carving personas into his discography on both mixtapes and albums. The result is a culmination of happy fun bangers, with a general aura that’s joyous. There are of course metaphors and deeper meanings, as this is a rap tape, but TWOPOINTFIVE’s overarching emotion is relaxation. This tape appears to be rendered on Aminé’s own terms which is a relief. It’s far too often we see artists lose their passion so to speak; they’re pressured by “executives” to pump out overly-generic music. This tape is everything but that, as it’s full of experimental production and vocalization. Overall, this tape is a great listen that I would recommend to any Anime fan new or old. – Daniel (8.2/10)

Aminé absolutely slid on TWOPOINTFIVE. With a less studied approach, the follow up to 2019’s Limbo is a noticeable pivot from his laborious ode to hip-hop. Ordering some candy-coated production from Jibbs’ ever-present ice cream truck, Aminé elevates the frenetic sound selection with choice samples and audio clips. He marries his own wit to a flow that traverses cool, calm, and collected just as effectively as more quirky territories. In a sea of sing-rap contemporaries pumping out overlong vibe playlists, Aminé finds a happy medium between brevity and indulgence loading TP5 with killer hooks, clever bars, and an unobtrusive groove that immediately prompts a relisten, or three. The span of TWOPOINTFIVE is impressive for such a short record. In addition to the calibrated ice cream truck beats we are treated to moments of electro funk on “Twisted!,” while “OKWME” delivers a wonderfully lopsided instrumental—with Aminé navigating the production with ease. He spits an assertive freestyle , “Mad Funny,” over percussive breaths and dithering strings one minute, and mulling over the human condition to a roll call of starburst chews on the next. On “Between the Lines,” this nigga really rapped with an “indie accent” for half a bar to get his point across with a flair of melodrama… Needless to say, there’s range here. TWOPOINTFIVE isn’t exactly innovative, as so much of what grounds this project is familiarity, but it’s certainly keeping the conversation going and most importantly, keeping it interesting. At 26 minutes, we are left with a thoughtful pastiche of West Coast Rap that still gives a distinct voice to niggas in the PNW. – Henny (8/10)