- Y'all didn't need to put that in my Wikipedia
like that defines me.
That's crazy.
I'm about to call my manager up.
This is wild.
This is not okay.
Yo, what up, GQ?
This is Aminé, and I'm going undercover on the internet.
This is Actually Me.
[keys clacking]
First up, let's check out Reddit.
"Fun fact: All three singles have featured the album title.
He was hinting at the title since 'Shimmy.'
'Shimmy:' Right at the beginning
of this single you hear a distorted limbo.
'RiRi:' Stuck in limbo for how long?
'Compensating:' Also features the distorted limbo
as an ad lib."
"Yes, peepmymixtape, I will not be peeping your mix tape,
but you are very right, and I did that on purpose.
There's a limbo distorted like tag that we've been using
throughout the album.
I can't wait to use that tag on tour,
once we can go on tour.
That's definitely how we're gonna start the shows.
I'm glad you noticed that.
You do certain things on purpose,
and when you guys notice them, it feels good.
I didn't know that my first Reddit comment
that I would read about myself would be so nice.
So thank you."
Next.
[slow hip-hop music]
"That beat-switch in the middle
of the song was real smooth.
Love that transition.
I'm sure this will have an eccentric video attached
to it soon.
Ha ha.
Edit: Anyone know who the female vocalist was in the middle
or was that a sample?"
"We worked really hard on that song and its transitions.
Quick little background story.
I've had "RiRi" in my laptop for a year and a half.
I made that before I even made 'OnePointFive,' I think.
So I saved that for the album,
'cause I knew I really liked the song.
We got Joyce Wrice and Marche' Black
from Portland to sing on the bridge,
and those are two actual friends of mine who sing amazing.
So, I knew that the song had this very rough feel to it,
and it was really turnt.
And I really wanted to make sure
that the song kind of got its own break.
Its own pretty break that kind of, like,
takes you to heaven and then brings you back down to earth.
So, that's what it's supposed to feel like.
Glad you noticed it, Kiakili."
All right, now let's check out my Wikipedia.
"Aminé was born and raised
in the Northeast Portland neighborhood of Woodlawn.
He grew up wanting to play basketball,
but was cut from the Benson Polytechnic basketball team
freshman and sophomore year."
I don't know why that's in my bio on Wikipedia.
That's not information everybody needs to know.
That's so embarrassing.
Yeah, I tell people I got cut, and that's fine,
but y'all don't need to put that in my Wikipedia
like that defines me.
That's crazy.
I'm about to call my manager up.
This is wild.
This is not okay.
If I didn't get cut from the basketball team,
I wouldn't be sitting here with GQ today.
Submit.
All right, let's check out Twitter.
Are OutKast and Aminé singing about the same Caroline?
"Definitely not.
They were singing kind of like they don't really [bleep]
with that Caroline.
And I think mine is kind of uplifting,
talking about a girl I like."
"First time I ever heard that name was from OutKast.
I had never known anybody named Caroline.
Caroline is just like an idea of a person.
I'm talking about multiple women in that song,
not just one."
"How come in the song 'Spice Girl,'
Aminé mentions every Spice Girl except Baby Spice?
That's [bleep] up."
With hella question marks.
You need to chill out, Baby Bugbear,
'cause you coming at me crazy.
"I forgot to put Baby Spice in there,
but I know the word baby is somewhere in the song.
Is Baby Spice not in there?
Or is she actually?
You should go read the lyrics on Genius,
and maybe she might be mentioned in there
and you just didn't notice."
Replied.
"Yes, I'm posting this on every social media I have,
but Aminé has Scary Spice in his 'Spice Girl' video.
How am I meant to be calm?"
Question mark, exclamation point,
question mark, exclamation point.
@heyamine.
That's my Twitter, by the way.
"When I came out with the song 'Spice Girl,'
Scary Spice was really kind enough
to want to be in the video, and she was down to do the skit.
We took her bloopers from the script I wrote for her to say.
We just cut it up together in the 'Spice Girl' video.
And it ended up being really cool."
"I never would have thought that Scary Spice would be
in a music video of mine
or I would ever even really meet them.
I have a lot of women in my family
who were in love with the Spice Girls.
They just taught me kind of who they were,
and I became a fan as well."
"Scary was actually my second favorite, 'cause I love Scary,
but my favorite Spice Girl of all time was Sporty.
I had a crush on her growing up as well,
and now her and me are friends.
I met her.
She came out to my London show.
She's amazing."
Let's check out YouTube.
[slow hip-hop music]
"Can someone tell me why people are so hurt
over him creasing a $100 AF1?
I thought everyone liked to beat Forces into the ground."
"Well, my brother, GreatTusker,
you must be white, 'cause in black culture
we do not beat up our Forces.
That is a flex to beat up your Forces.
I don't crease my shoes.
I used to walk around in middle school
with my brand new Jordans or AF1s
without ever bending my foot.
Me creasing the Air Force One
was just a big flex ruining something
that people hold valuable.
You know what I'm saying?
It's like, it's nothing.
Just throw it in the bag."
- [Interviewer] How do you walk without creasing them?
- You kind of walk like you have a peg leg.
You know what I'm saying?
"You walk really crazy when you got your new shoes.
That's what we used to do in the early 2000s.
You know, we held Jordans, like, very close to us."
Shout out to Michael Jordan.
Next.
[slow hip-hop music]
"How many beautiful black women would you like, Aminé?
Aminé: Yes."
"Yeah, there's a ton of beautiful black women in 'RiRi.'
They all did it from their house,
quarantine, social distancing.
Remember to stay six feet away.
Actually, most of the women in the 'RiRi' video
were all friends of mine,
and then two or three of them, we casted.
Joyce Wrice, who sings on the bridge,
is in the beginning and the middle.
She's all over the video.
And then Marshe' Black, who sings a little bit on the bridge
as well, is in the video.
She's the girl sipping the orange juice.
That's all I got for you, Nikhil Ananth.
I don't want to disrespect your family,
but your last name is hella hard to say,
just like mine, though, so cool."
[slow hip-hop music]
"Why nobody is talking
about the way he's his own photographer?"
"Yeah, we were in the editing room
for, like, five days straight trying
to make 'RiRi' and edit 'RiRi' together.
And we had that scene,
and I was supposed to be rapping towards the camera,
and that was the scene.
But we just made that decision off the cuff.
So I was just like,
'It'd be really cool to see myself photograph myself.'
That wasn't even in the treatment for the video.
We just decided that on the spot.
A lot of scenes from, like, a lot of my music videos kind
of happen on set as well."
[slow hip-hop music]
"Bruh, Issa Rae in this video?"
"Yeah, Issa Rae is a good friend of mine.
She is a sweetheart, and she was super nice and kind enough
to want to be in a video of mine.
She showed up and played my baby mama,
and she played it very well.
Yeah, it was definitely really cool
to have her early on in my music video before anyone else,
so that was cool.
Me and Issa kind of have been friends
since the 'Good for You' era.
She tweeted about the 'Good for You' album when it came out,
but yeah, ever since then, we've been friends.
And that led to, you know, me being on 'Insecure.'
And she's just like a really good person."
Let's see what people are saying on Instagram.
Safeeyuh said "Scary Spice,"
and she commented that on a selfie of mine in my new hairdo.
"I forgot that Scary Spice actually did that.
When I decided to do that to my hair for the album cover,
we just wanted to pick something that really was different,
and I had never done Bantu knots.
My hairstylist, Aliiky, who usually does my braids,
put together my hair.
When I looked in the mirror
and I was like, 'Oh, this is really sick,'
so I just decided to go with it, 'cause I liked it.
Simple as that.
Definitely is a happy coincidence."
"Where's the damn album?"
"And the skin care routine."
"Y'all gotta stop complimenting me too much on my skin,
'cause like my skin is not that amazing.
But it is, you know what I mean?
I be moisturizing.
There's a makeup artist on set,
so I definitely look better on camera
than I do in real life.
I think everyone does.
But the damn album got announced after 'RiRi,'
So D-V-D-K-L-L-M, I hope you're happy
once 'Limbo' comes out August 7th."
Replied.
That's it for today.
Shout out to GQ, much love.
Peace.
