Adam Aminé Daniel (born April 18, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He first gained notability for his commercial debut single, "

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

", which peaked at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Aminé released his debut studio album '' Good for You'', on July 28, 2017, and his second studio album,

Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

, on August 7, 2020.

Early life and education

Aminé is the son of Amhara

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

- Eritrean immigrants who came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the early 1990s. Aminé's mother worked at a post office and his father was a teacher and translator part-time. Aminé was born and raised in the Northeast Portland neighborhood of Woodlawn. Aminé graduated from

Benson Polytechnic High School Benson Polytechnic High School is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. It is temporarily located in Portland's Lents neighborhood while a renovation project is underway at its campus in the Central Eastside c ...

, and attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

to study

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

before dropping out to focus on his music career full time. Aminé worked as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...

at the hip-hop publication ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

''.

Career

2014–2015: Early career and career beginnings

On January 17, 2014, Aminé began his music career after releasing his debut

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, ''Odyssey to Me''. On September 4, 2014, Aminé also went on to release his debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, titled ''En Vogue''. On August 31, 2015, Aminé followed suit with his second mixtape, titled ''Calling Brío''.

2016–2017: Breakthrough with "Caroline" and ''Good for You''

On March 9, 2016, Aminé released his debut single, titled "

". Aminé went on to release his self-directed music video for "Caroline" through his

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

channel on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on June 1, 2016. The song debuted at number 96 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and would later rise to number 11. In June 2017, the song was certified three-times platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. In August 2016, Aminé partnered with

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. Aminé went on to release his second single under Republic Records, titled "Baba" on November 4, 2016, following the success of "Caroline". On November 15, 2016, Aminé performed "Caroline" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''. On March 9, 2017, Aminé released a new single titled, "REDMERCEDES". The music video for the song was released on April 7, 2017 through his Vevo channel on YouTube. The song had been praised for being influenced by early 2000s rap, such as songs by

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

. The official

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the song features vocals from Missy Elliott and

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' i ...

. The remix was released to

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

on May 26, 2017. Aminé went on to release another single on the same day titled, "Heebiejeebies" which features vocals from

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released the ...

. Aminé was named as one of the ten members of '' XXL's'' "2017 Freshman Class" on June 13, 2017 alongside rappers A Boogie wit da Hoodie,

PnB Rock Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), better known by his stage name PnB Rock, was an American rapper and singer. He gained a large following in 2016 with his song "Selfish", which peaked at number 51 on the US ''Billbo ...

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Carter was initially signed to local underground label Awful Records prior to signing with ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope ...

Ugly God Royce Cornell Davison-Rodriguez (born September 19, 1996), better known as Ugly God, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2016 song "Water", which peaked at number 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 char ...

, Kyle,

MadeinTYO Malcolm Jamaal Davis (born April 12, 1992), better known by his stage name MadeinTYO (pronounced Made in Tokyo), is an American rapper and singer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He rose to prominence in 2016 after the release of his single "Uber Everyw ...

Kamaiyah Kamaiyah Jamesha Johnson (born March 13, 1992) is an American rapper and singer from Oakland, California. Her debut mixtape, '' A Good Night in the Ghetto'', was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. In 2017, Kamaiyah was named as one of the t ...

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is an Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his song " Girlfriend", which peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Early life George Ramirez wa ...

, and

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

. Aminé went on to release the single "Turf" three days later. On June 22, 2017, Aminé announced and revealed the album's title and cover of his debut studio album titled '' Good for You''. Leading up to the release of the album, Aminé released the singles "Blinds" and "Wedding Crashers" featuring vocals from rapper

Offset Offset or Off-Set may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Off-Set", a song by T.I. and Young Thug from the '' Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * ''Offset'' (EP), a 2018 EP by singer Kim Chung-ha * ''Offset'' (film), a 200 ...

. ''Good for You'' was released on July 28, 2017. The album debuted at number 31 on the US ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

'' chart with first-week sales of 13,000 copies first week. Following the release of ''Good for You'', Aminé released the single "Squeeze" on October 21, 2017.

2018–2020: ''OnePointFive'' and ''Limbo''

On January 16, 2018, Aminé was featured on

Rejjie Snow Alexander Anyaegbunam better known by his stage name Rejjie Snow, is an Irish rapper and songwriter from Drumcondra, Dublin. Early life RejjieSnow was born Alexander Anyaegbunam in Dublin, Ireland, to a Nigerian father and an Irish-Jamaican mot ...

's single titled "Egyptian Luvr". Aminé later released the single "Campfire" featuring

Injury Reserve Injury Reserve is an American hip hop group formed in 2013 in Tempe, Arizona by rappers Stepa J. Groggs (Jordan Groggs), Ritchie with a T (Nathaniel Ritchie), and producer Parker Corey. History 2013–2014: Career beginnings, ''Depth Chart ...

on April 6. After teasing a 2018 project release, the project, titled ''

OnePointFive ''OnePointFive'' (stylized in all caps) is the third mixtape by American rapper Aminé. It was released on August 15, 2018, through Republic Records and Club Banana. The project follows his debut studio album '' Good for You'' (2017). The project ...

'', was announced on August 14, 2018, alongside the cover art, tracklist and its release date. The album was released to the public on August 15. He was later a part of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

for the 2018 movie, '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', with the song, "Invincible" on December 14. On February 26, 2020, Aminé released the single, "Shimmy". On May 29, 2020, Aminé released the single "Riri". On July 6, 2020, Aminé released the single "Compensating" featuring

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

, whilst announcing and revealing the cover art and release date for his second studio album, ''

''. On August 7, 2020, ''Limbo'' was released.

2021–present: ''TwoPointFive''

On October 25, 2021, Aminé released the single, called "Charmander". On November 3, Aminé announced on Instagram and Twitter that his mixtape, titled TwoPointFive, would release the following day on Friday. The following day Aminé would reveal the tracklist and cover art for the mixtape On November 5, TwoPointFive was released.

Personal life

Aminé currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Aminé has listed

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

as his favorite director; he wants to branch out into film directing and fashion. Aminé mentions his relationship with singer-songwriter

in his 2017 song "DR. WHOEVER". In his first verse he opens up about their relationship stating "Yeah, love is what I cherished and Ms. Parrish, Flew all the way to Paris and we made out on my terrace, I kept it on the low-low, 'cause I was in love". Under these lyrics on website, Genius, his verified account annotated "Me and K dated for a good amount of time. And that's just something that happened between us that we both agreed to keep private... She's still one of the best homies I have. And she's still a top-notch artist to me. Nothing's changed."

Political views

Aminé is an open critic of former U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. During Aminé's television debut on ''

'' on November 15, 2016, Aminé performed a remixed version of the song "Caroline". At the end of the performance, Aminé performed a verse dedicated to the results of the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticke ...

saying the lines:

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
, a day that we never forgetting, 11/9, a day that we all regrettin', If my president is Trump then it's relevant enough to talk 'bout it on TV and not give a... I'm black, and I'm proud my skin is brown and I'm loud, everybody love it when a rapper tells some lies well that ain't me, homie, I guess that's a surprise America wanna act all happy and holy but deep down inside they're like Brad and Jolie, Caroline divine and I won't get specific, Club Banana the illest and it's too terrific, You can never make America great again, all you ever did was make this country hate again.

When speaking about Trump's immigration policy during the 2016 presidential campaign, Aminé said, "My parents are immigrants to this country, they came to this country for a better opportunity just like everyone else."

Discography

* '' Good for You'' (2017) * ''

'' (2018) * ''

'' (2020) * ''TwoPointFive'' (2021)

Tours

* ''Tour for You'' (2017) *''TourPointFive'' (2018) *''Best Tour Ever'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amine 1994 births Alternative hip hop musicians American hip hop singers African-American male rappers American people of Ethiopian descent American people of Eritrean descent Benson Polytechnic High School alumni Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon Portland State University alumni Rappers from Oregon Republic Records artists Singers from Oregon West Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African Americans in Oregon 21st-century African-American musicians African-American history in Portland, Oregon