New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Portland-based rapper, artist, director, culture shaker and innovative ingenue Aminé delivers his video for "Riri" which he (Adam Daniel) co-directed with longtime visual collaborator Jack Bergert ("Shimmy," "Reel It In," "Blackjack") filmed in quarantine around LA mansions with cameos from the likes of beloved sports broadcaster Taylor Rooks & more!
"We shot this video before the murder of
George Floyd & my knowledge of the Breonna Taylor case," Aminé writes "but I felt compelled to delay its release for obvious reasons. Activism is essential right now so I put my focus there for the past few weeks. We skipped editing sessions to march in the
Black Lives Matter protests. I'm dropping the 'Riri' video today because it's important to show black joy in a time where we're constantly seeing imagery of pain and suffering."
Aminé has also joined forces with former YEEZY designer Sara Jaramillo and Alice Wang's ILYSM to offer a $500 grant this week for an artist impacted by COVID19 shutdowns. Applications for this round of #ILYSM4Artists are due by noon EST on
Thursday 6/25 at ILYSM.COM.
Pegged "one of the most creative voices in hip-hop Aminé shakes the culture every time he releases a new song" (Hot New Hip Hop) and "Riri" is no different. "Aminé shoots his shot" (Hip Hop Dx) "pay[ing] tribute to Rihanna" (Genius) "bringing a similar hard-hitting feeling to his latest" (Uproxx) on "dope follow-up to the Portland artist's" (Def Pen) new single "Riri," "just another showcase for the Portland rapper's unique blend of melody and winking bars" (Entertainment Weekly).
The "multiplatinum hip-hop multihyphenate" (RESPECT) made XXL and High Snobiety's "Best New Songs" lists and Complex "wouldn't be surpris[ed] if the real
Rihanna was caught on Instagram enjoying the new tune." Hypebeast cosigns that "the centerpiece of "Riri" is Aminé's soulful hook and reflective lyrics buoyed by bassrich production from frequent collaborator Pasqué."
"Aminé has a way of making catchy melodic rap that doesn't really sound like anyone else and this song ["Riri"] is no exception" (Brooklyn Vegan). "Love is blind but
Amine finds his way on his brand new single" (Rap Radar). The song's a bass-heavy thump with a smooth chorus" (Stereogum)."Ending a year of silence earlier this year with his most recent single "Shimmy" Aminé continues to prepare us for his next body of work" (2 Dope Boyz).
Earlier this year, Aminé continued on his promise to change perceptions and defy expectations with "Shimmy" paying homage to his past, while declaring 2020 as his. Accompanied by a co-directed music video love letter to Portland, the song garnered 20 Million streams globally and the gamut of fanfare.
Continuing to expand his influence, 5x platinum certified artist [for mega-smash "
Caroline"] recently appeared on HBO's Insecure this month and locked writer/comedian Jak Knight from ABC's Black-ish fame for a closing skit on "RiRi."
Artists who move culture forward create their own. Aminé's debut LP, "
Good For You" did just that for Portland's music scene, hiphop and the culture at large - buoyed by his 5x platinum RIAA certified breakout smash "
Caroline", "REDMERCEDES" and "Wedding Crashers" [feat. Offset]. The album which displayed mosaic influence from his parents' Ethiopian heritage to trailblazers like
Kanye West and André 3000, made an instantly indelible impact - scoring a RIAA gold certification, millions of singles streams, Spotify #1s, and 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs Chart, peaking at #11. Aminé further solidified himself as a force of nature between explosive festival sets (Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza) and show-stopping late nights (The
Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers). Maintaining this momentum, while owning his subdued profile and preference for an AirBNB wilderness cabin over a posh studio for recording, Aminé released his self-described 2018 EP/LP/MIXTAPE/ ALBUM "ONEPOINTFIVE" (LISTEN HERE).
"...amiable, inventive and idiosyncratic, one of the year's most intriguing…." — NY TIMES
