Aminé w/ Buddy and Kayo Genesis
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
12.18.18
Aminé. It may not be a name that instantly brings a song to mind or even a name you can pronounce (it’s “uh-me-nay”), but Portland rapper Adam Aminé Daniel is the mastermind behind so many of the bangers we’ve been enjoying lately.
Aminé got his 15 minutes of fame last year with “Caroline,” a track that, when played, will always have at least 30 people singing along, then made a comeback with his second album ONEPOINTFIVE, which featured “REEL IT IN.” So when TOURPOINTFIVE was announced, it’s easy to say the PNW was more than ready to turn up again.
The tour opened with Kayo Genesis, a newer name to the hip-hop community, but he didn’t let that show with a shockingly well-done performance. With the sunny sound of a young Chance the Rapper and the bouncy energy of a SoundCloud rapper, Genesis didn’t even feel like an opener for the night.
Next up was Buddy, an artist that makes every single one of his songs sound like they’re from someone different. He’s most well-known for “Black,” a fast and aggressive song where the word “black” makes up 80 percent of the lyrics. But on the same album also has “Trouble on Central,” a laid-back retro sounding track that almost plays into an entirely different crowd. Through headphones, the album is good but honestly comes across a little disheveled because each song is so different. Live, however, it was striking how the songs are entirely reinvented in the way Buddy performs, stringing them all along perfectly. The diversity was less pronounced and they flowed a little more easily in a way that allowed him to close with “Black” without it sounding out of place.
Finally, to top off the night was Aminé. Turf was rolled out to cover his stage with a big screen in the back and a single microphone stand, giving the setup a very minimalistic feel. And after what felt like hours of between-sets music, the lights finally dimmed to let Rickey Thompson’s voice ring through the crowd. “Sad on your motherf***in’ b-day?! B*** what the f***?! Don’t you realize you poppin’? Every time you walk in the room you break necks—NECKS.”
A YouTuber famous from his days on Vine, Rickey Thompson was a hilarious choice to narrate or make cameos on the album, and gave the perfect start to “DR. WHOEVER,” the album’s opening track. And as Rickey’s opening lines played through, it sounded like every single person in the room spoke right along with it, with perfect timing and inflection. It was really shocking and hilarious to hear.
After his opening, Aminé bounced back to his debut album momentarily for “Yellow,” which got the crowd a little more hyped up. His set was an easy up and down, perfectly showing off the contrast between his debut and sophomore albums. His debut was exactly what he needed to launch him into popularity: banger after banger, a collection of 15 tracks that are each killer by themselves and come together wonderfully on the album. ONEPOINTFIVE has a few similar moments, with tracks that will bump on the radio for years to come, but overall the LP is more introspective and experimental.
The mix between the two created a perfect dynamic for the show with some songs to bop along to, and once you ran out of breath, you could simply watch in awe. TOURPOINTFIVE was everything it needed to be and more. A crazy good lineup of openers leading to a headliner who never fails to pull through. The night at Showbox SoDo was one for the books for sure.
Review and photos by Lulu Dawson
Aminé
Buddy
Kayo Genesis
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