Adam Aminé Daniel, known mononymously as Aminé, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his commercial debut single, "Caroline", which peaked at number 11 on the US BillboardHot 100 chart. Aminé released his debut studio album Good for You, on July 28, 2017.
Early life
He is the son of Ethiopian immigrants who immigrated to the United States 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. He grew up wanting to play basketball, but was cut from Benson Polytechnic's basketball team freshman and sophomore year. His rap career started by making diss tracks about rival high schools, Grant High School and Lincoln High School. Aminé attended Portland State University and studied marketing. Aminé also worked as an intern at the hip-hop publication Complex.
Career
2014–15: Beginnings
Aminé began his career after the release of his debut mixtape, Odyssey to Me, which was released on January 17, 2014. Aminé also went on to release his debut extended play, En Vogue, on September 4, 2014. Aminé followed up on his debut mixtape with his second mixtape, Calling Brío, which was released on August 31, 2015.
2016–17: Breakthrough and ''Good for You''
On March 9, 2016, Aminé released his debut single titled, "Caroline". Aminé went on to release his self-directed music video for "Caroline" through his Vevo channel on YouTube 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. In August 2016, Aminé partnered with Republic Records. 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. 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. The official remix of the song features vocals from Missy Elliott and AJ Tracey. The remix was released to iTunes on May 26, 2017. Aminé went on to release another single on the same day titled, "Heebiejeebies" which features vocals from Kehlani. 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, Playboi Carti, Ugly God, Kyle, MadeinTYO, Kamaiyah, Kap G, and XXXTentacion. 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. Good for You was released on July 28, 2017. The album debuted at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 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–present: ''OnePointFive'' and ''Limbo''
On January 16, 2018, Aminé was featured on Rejjie Snow's single titled "Egyptian Luvr". Aminé later released the single "Campfire" featuring Injury Reserve on April 6. After teasing a 2018 project release, the project, titled OnePointFive, 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 for the 2018 movie, , 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, whilst announcing and revealing the cover art and release date for his second studio album, Limbo.
Personal life
Aminé currently lives in Los Angeles. Aminé has listed Quentin Tarantino as his favorite director and has said about him "Tarantino is just one of those guys who's in his own lane, which I admire immensely — I just really love the artist and the mind that creates the art." Aminé has stated before that he wants to branch out into directing film and fashion.
Politics
Aminé is an open critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. During Aminé's television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 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 saying the lines:
9/11, 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."
