As the world changes around him, he maintains his lighthearted outlook on life

It’s been nearly two years since Amine’s “EPLPALBUMMIXTAPE”, ‘OnePointFive’, dropped at the end of the summer of 2018. At the time, it was still questionable whether Amine would make a lasting impression on the music industry. 

Hits including “Caroline” and “REEL IT IN” established Amine as the lighthearted, head-held-high artist that we know today, but his sophomore album “Limbo” proves he’s here to stay. 

“Limbo” was originally set to be released earlier this year in May but was delayed indefinitely due to the protests and riots taking the majority of the media’s attention. Amine said it “wouldn’t feel right” to release music at the time. In the end, the album was delayed roughly three months to allow breathing room for our nation. 

While the wait only added more anticipation to the long-awaited release, Amine certainly didn’t disappoint. The album is refreshingly short, only 14 tracks long. While many new rap albums lean towards 18 to 20 tracks long, Limbo is a tight 44 minutes. The album is long enough to satisfy any desperate fan, it’s also short enough to connect with the majority of the album, rather than a few highlights.

Throughout the album, we listen to a more serious and contemplative side of Amine at times, as he reflects on the world changing around him. Many of his friends have recently gotten married or had children, while one of his closest friends and collaborators Jordan Groggs (one side of duo Injury Reserve, also featured on the album) tragically passed away in July at the young age of 32. 

At the age of 26, it’s hard to tell Amine to grow up with the environment around him. At an age where many people feel that they’re too young to grow up, yet too old to party hard and make bad decisions, it’s easy to fall into a quarter-life crisis; his personal limbo. 

While this newfound seriousness in him can provide a new, deeper perspective on his life, it also tends to slow down the pace of the album at times. The track-listing pushes the listener through a tour of different emotions and moods, from party anthems (“Woodlawn”), to love songs (“Riri” and “Easy” featuring Summer Walker), to a reflective, tearful finale (“My Reality”). 

During this run, it can be somewhat easy for many listeners to be caught off-guard by the slower songs and lose attention. However, these slower and more introspective tracks are the easiest way for Amine to tug on your heartstrings. Especially on tracks such as the emotional ballad “Mama” that urges us all to reach out to the ones we love most. 

While showing an impressive amount of growth from his last two full-length projects, Amine still maintains the youthful and infectious charm that captured the attention of his audience at the beginning of his career. After seeing a further touching and maturing side of such a promising and musically underrated artist, his fans can’t wait to see what’s next from amine in due time, as many begin to fall into their own “Limbo”.