SW 2019: Aminé
I've been jealous of my best friend Caroline ever since we introduced ourselves to one another, simply because her name is referenced in so many iconic songs. Growing up in Atlanta, I heard the Outkast song “Roses” everywhere.* “Sweet Caroline” is the opening anthem of countless weddings, baseball games, and house parties. The list goes on; a quick Google search reveals the existence of no fewer than 29 songs that reference the name either in the lyrics or the title itself.Even though she’s the “reason for the word bitch (bitch!),” it's pretty cool for Caroline to be celebrated so much. Lately, in anticipation of Spring Weekend, we’ve been singing her praises in one more memorable song about Caroline: the aptly titled “Caroline” by our Friday performer, Aminé.** Last year, this debut single peaked at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100. On Friday when the opening chords play, I know that a crowd will circle around my friend, screaming the lyrics and dancing to Aminé.While I'm a big fan of that particular song, what really made me fall in love with Aminé was his iconic Tiny Desk concert from November 2017. In this set, he performs “Slide”, “Wedding Crashers”, and of course, “Spice Girl/Caroline.”The first thing you'll notice about Aminé in this video is how cute he is. And not even cute in an I-love-your-face-hair-body way. Or I-love-your-perfectly-casual-long-sleeve-tee. He’s cute because of how he looks at the camera, imploring us to keep watching. With a magnetic smile and half-closed eyes, he is hard to look away from.As NPR has aptly pointed out, Aminé (pronounced ah-MEE-nay) has been called everything from anime (as in Japanese animation) to amino (as in the acid). But after watching the Portland native perform songs from his Good For You debut album, you'll find him impossible to forget.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MqlDbZ_asYou might also recognize Aminé from his incredible performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2016. At the end of his set, he criticized Trump; “You can never make America great again/All you ever did was make this country hate again.” I highly recommend checking it out.Since then, Aminé's social consciousness has continued making waves across the media world. In July 2017, the New York Times wrote a piece on him describing him as "a joyful rapper with an eye on politics." The son of Ethiopian immigrants, he told the Times, “Trump as the president doesn’t make sense to me. Someone talking about the country and the people who live in it that way when this country is made up of immigrants, I don’t get how that can even resonate with people.”I think Brown is the perfect place for him to really shine.Image via. *Caroline! (Caroline!) Caroline!All the guys would say she's mighty fine (Mighty fine!)**Bad thang (shit), fine as hell (whoa), thick as fuckOh my god, that's my babyCaroline, you divineMighty fine