SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Portland rapper Amine has a new album out. It's called "13 Months Of Sunshine." We spoke about the album with music journalist Ikenna Offor. He says it shows Amine's maturity as an artist, drawing on his upbringing and his roots to create a sound that's confident and unique. We asked him to tell us about a few standout songs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW FLOWER!")
LEON THOMAS: (Singing) You've grown yourself a flower.
IKENNA OFFOR: So "New Flower!", that opened the album on a wistful, lightly psychedelic, hazy note, sort of like - you think early Torry Mar (ph) with, like, a bit of West Coast sunshine injected into it. Fantastic song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW FLOWER!")
AMINE: (Rapping) ...Don't believe in a sure thing. But now he do 'cause my wrist like the west wing.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Prezi.
AMINE: (Rapping) I had to grow my own garden, plant the seeds, but I was faint hearted. The courage it took to get this [expletive] started.
OFFOR: The verse is subdued, but emotionally acute. So like he said, he reminisces back on when he was broke and didn't have anything. And in the rest of the song, it unfolds like someone slowly unpacking a memory box.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW FLOWER!")
THOMAS: (Singing) In the garden.
OFFOR: He felt that his grandfather was, like, a horticulturist. And so after school, that was, like, his sort of hobby to stay out of trouble.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW FLOWER!")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Maintaining it, giving it water, stuff like that. This is how I grow up.
THOMAS: (Singing) And when the sun hits your skin, I hope you know...
OFFOR: He used to help his grandfather in the garden. So with "New Flower!", it's like he's calling back to those memories, but also presenting himself as, like, I came from that. These are the memories that shaped me, like, as a person, and this is the man I have become right now.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW FLOWER!")
AMINE: (Rapping) Lifetime friends think I think of 'em less. Nope, I am depressed. If people don't like me, then I don't get a check, which means both my parents are stayin' in debt. And I prefer to be the only one that carries the stress. If I had never got rich, maybe sunset wouldn't have me sick. 'Cause that crash almost toe-tagged my sis. Is it my fault that she even had that risk? But [expletive] what I can't control, the best advice I'll get from myself...
OFFOR: For me, "History" is Amine in diarist mode. He's vulnerable, (inaudible) to self reckoning and maybe even a little too self aware.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HISTORY")
AMINE: (Singing) You thought I loved you. I thought I did too.
OFFOR: The beat feels skeletal. It's like it's making room for the memories to breathe.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HISTORY")
AMINE: (Singing) ...Confused. We let it take it's course, our hearts left on the floor.
OFFOR: It's a song that just feels like paging through an old journal, but kind of in reverse. It's like telling the story of this breakup in reverse. And then, like, all the reckoning of the heartbreak, the mistakes he made, the thing that went right, the thing that went wrong, just all put together. It's just fantastic. I love it. I just love it so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HISTORY")
AMINE: (Singing) Every time you touch those sheets, every time, it's you and me. Searchin' through the sheets and bed while the sun seeps. Right through your eyes, I see you're in love with me.
OFFOR: So "Raspberry Kisses" was my favorite song on my first listen through the album. It's just like that sugar rush of flotation, but it has a slightly bitter aftertaste, which is not necessarily a bad thing here.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RASPBERRY KISSES")
AMINE: (Singing) Raspberry kisses in my car. Now we're more than friends. I would wish you would take me in, take me in, take me in. Raspberry kisses in my car...
OFFOR: The production is just fantastic. It's all like - it's like, you know, those shimmering keys, the boom bap swing. Almost like an early Dilla Loop (ph), but, like, if you put it through a kaleidoscope, if that makes sense. The vocals are like the light, almost tossed off, but, like, the emotion sneaks up on you. You can hear, like, the light wistfulness of the infatuation, and then you can hear, like, the switch where the doubt starts to creep in.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RASPBERRY KISSES")
AMINE: (Singing) The way you sittin', you could sit a kid up on it - kid up on it. You got some photos on that phone, put a CC on it - CC on it. Yeah, I'm from the wood, I'm a hood baby, yeah. I don't make it work. I make it good, baby, yeah. Crankin' this like I'm '03 Jim Carrey, yeah. But I'd never do my baby...
OFFOR: I think "13 Months Of Sunshine" is more than just a new chapter. It's a hard pivot. There's no more pastel-colored punch lines or hyper-pop, like, almost, like, mem-ready flexes of, like, the early work. Here, there's textured introspection, Pan-African curiosity. The palette is just radiant. He's chasing depth rather than clout. So it's diasporic, and it's proudly Black.
DETROW: That's music journalist Ikenna Offor talking about "13 Months Of Sunshine," the latest album by rapper Amine. It's out now. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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