Aminé
Showbox, Seattle, WA
10.06.17
Sometimes, living in Seattle, it feels like the only local rapper people care about is Macklemore. But kicking off his headlining tour at The Showbox, Portland rapper Aminé proved that the PNW grows more talent than just grunge rock and Macklemore.
After Towkio hyped up the crowd to get things started off, white balloons that spelled out “Good For You,” Aminé’s debut album title, were placed on stage to excited screams. Opening his set with “Baba” and “Veggies,” the performance was wild and high-energy from start to finish.
Mid-set, Aminé explained his outfit a little. Telling the crowd he was going to wear the same pair of pants for the whole tour, and admitting that’s a little nasty, he explained how each city was going to get a patch on the jeans. Then from each crowd, he’d call up one person to write something on the patch corresponding with their city. For the Seattle stop, Aminé selected a younger boy who had been waving a sign around all night, and after some crowd discussion, everyone seemed to agree “Fuck Trump 206” needed to be written on the Seattle patch.
“Spice Girl” is easily one of Aminé’s most popular songs. It’s catchy, using a similar method as Future with “Mask Off” by using almost medieval sounding samples layered with the chorus, giving the track an odd tinge that makes it more intriguing. The sound, paired with the comical lyrics about The Spice Girls, made the perfect sing-along track for the tail end of the set. Aminé decided to take a slightly different spin on it this time, slowing it down to a more stripped down, nearly acapella, rendition. It completely changed the vibe. But of course, energy levels will always spike way up when you play “Wannabe” by The Spice Girls.
Aminé did the same stripped back kind of thing for the first bit of “Caroline,” another huge hit of his, and before the whole crowd nearly broke the floor with all the jumping during the chorus.
Finally closing off with another round of “Spice Girl,” the night was pretty much exhausted, leaving Aminé with literally nothing left to perform. His set was one to be reckoned with-high energy and full of hits, it brought the crowd together to dance to some of the most underappreciated rap music around.
Review and photos by Lulu Dawson
Aminé
Towkio
