Aminé has returned with an energised new cut titled ‘Charmander’, coming as the Portland rapper’s first new material since last year’s ‘Limbo’ album.
‘Charmander’ stands out amongst Aminé’s catalogue with a kaleidoscopic soundscape of bubbly synths, chopped-up vocal harmonies and sharp, breakneck-paced 808s.
Aminé himself soars over the mix, rapping on the second verse: “Look, my energy is priceless / Told my jeweller, ‘Ice this’ / I’m way too decisive / Don’t catch that ego-itis / When I’m up in London, everybody say, ‘Your Highness’ / Not because I’m royal but because I be the highest.”
The track arrives alongside a fittingly trippy film clip, directed by longtime collaborator Jack Begert. It shows Aminé living a laidback lifestyle in an idyllic Oregon forest, hanging out with his partner and Clifford-sized poodle.
Take a look at the film clip for ‘Charmander’ below:
In a press release, Aminé explained that he first started working on ‘Charmander’ as a way to expand on the styles he’d honed in on with ‘Limbo’, keen to “experiment and challenge myself to create in ways I hadn’t before, exploring different textures and tempos without any expectations”.
He also noted that ‘Charmander’ was “the first product of that period that felt natural while still being at a completely different BPM than any of my previous work”.
‘Limbo’ was released back in August of 2020, and featured singles ‘Shimmy’, ‘Riri’ and ‘Compensating’. In addition to a Young Thug feature on the latter track, ‘Limbo’ sported collaborations with the likes of JID and Charlie Wilson (‘Roots’), Slowthai and Vince Staples (‘Pressure In My Palms’) and Injury Reserve (‘Fetus’).
A month after the album’s release, Aminé took to the skies to perform a medley of it from a hot air balloon, marking one of the most unique performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! A deluxe reissue of ‘Limbo’ also landed that December, featuring an additional seven tracks.