I waited till “The Steps” by HAIM came out to publish this post, because they might be the best band in America, and P.T. Anderson directs their videos. Like can you imagine if music videos existed in a real way and Stanley Kubrick directed all of Bowie’s videos? But, alas. “The Steps” ain’t it.¹ So let’s get into some jams.

It’s hard out here for a Drake apologist. You always know you’re on thin ice. Like what was Pusha saving for a third diss track?² But if your friend asked you on Wednesday to DJ their wedding on Friday, you’d put at least 7 Drake songs on your playlist. You’re never going to make it through the reception without “Nice For What.” And, honestly, why would you want to?

Here Aminé, whose name is not “Anime,” continues the tour Drake started through late-90s / early-aughts rap nostalgia. But instead of visiting iconic hip hop shooting locations, he instead runs us around iconic Portland locations.³ Aminé is from Portland, you see. And since he’s the only rapper ever to come out of Portland, he’s seizing the opportunity to make himself his city’s Drake, and he just might pull it off. If he ever does that thing where he develops his own weird sound reminiscent of his surroundings, he could really get there.⁴ For now, shout to Aminé for recognizing a vacuum in the market he could exploit.

This was on one of the playlists people make at work. And, I don’t know. I am a straight up sucker for an obvious sample paired with hip-hop beats. It’s why I love DJ Smokey. It’s why I love The Heatmakerz. And it’s why I love this shit.

1. The video maybe even less so. Ol’ Paul Tandy is just getting the Haim sisters nakeder and nakeder. Chill out, man.
2. After “Infrared,” and “The Story of Adidon,” which ended up being the killshot. If it was me, I’d have taken the “What Happened to That Boy?” beat and gone in on Ye. But what do I know? I’m not the most popular rapper in the world. I have no idea what that must be like. And you guys don’t care, anyway.
3. He’s mountain climbing, riding bikes, kicking it on the famous airport carpet. He only missed, I think, Burnside and Carrie Brownstein.
4. What would that sound like? A detailed description of a flight of craft beers?