“Summer officially begins May 19,” read a tweet from Portland-born artist Aminé announcing the release date for his collab album “KaytrAminé” with Grammy-award winning producer Kaytranada. Having known each other since early in their respective careers, the two finally joined efforts for a full album marketed as the sound of summer.

Just over a month before the announcement, the duo released a lead single for the project, “4EVA”, with an assist from famed producer Pharell. 

The song – which Aminé siad Kaytranada originally had made as a throwaway beat in an interview – transformed into three minutes of the crispiest fusion of dance and rap you’ll ever hear in your life. You couldn’t come in my dorm during the month of April without hearing that song over speaker. The team at online music magazine Consequence would probably back me up on that, as they named it their “song of the week” upon its release. 

With a little bit of bounce and synth in the back to smooth it over, “4EVA” had me all in for the album. 

The cover and tracklist were released on May 9th along with the album date. 

The cover, which featured the two relaxing on pink pool chairs in colorful attire, contributed to the summer-y vibe that the album promised. 

At 11 songs, the duo kept their albu compact, but didn’t spare on features, including prolific names like Freddie Gibbs, Big Sean, Amaarae, and Snoop Dogg.

When the album fully released May 19, listeners were first presented with “Who He Iz” as the intro track. The song follows a similar formula to “4EVA” with punchy drums and a keyboard holding them together in the background. The drums on “Who He Iz” punch a little harder and the keyboard does less of the talking, sometimes disappearing entirely — which is cool if you like drums, but may make the song feel more bare than its predecessor. 

Following the intro is “letstalkaboutit” featuring Freddie Gibbs, a track with laid back production that leans on rapping from Aminé and Gibbs.

Bringing on a well respected feature like Gibbs, the duo raises the bar, creating a summery song that has a little bite to it. The song feels like you’re going to the gym with your friend who lifts more than you, but instead of feeling small you feel motivated to push yourself. The end result is an output that you always had in you, but was brought out by the presence of your strong friend. 

Another notable moment on the album is “Rebuke” at track six. The song prominently features a 1979 sample from Lô Borges that was popularized in 2012 by Joey Badass’s “Don’t Front.” 

With the sample doing the heavy lifting on production, Aminé puts his vocals on display for the chorus, which has been common practice for him throughout his career. 

The last song, “K&A,” is the longest of the 11 at just over five minutes. Though far and away the longest, the song earns its length with dynamic production from Kaytranada. 

An array of vocals spend the first half of the song peering in and out over relaxed drums before a transition at the three minute mark brings new life into the song. The last two minutes give the drums an extra bounce and howling vocals from Aminé lend some intensity to the track.

The five minutes fly by, leaving the listener wanting just a little more — not unlike the end of summer itself. 

While select songs do stand out as high highs, the whole album unfortunately does not share the same love I have for songs like “4EVA” and “K&A.” 

The third installment of Aminé’s “STFU” series “STFU3” is the eighth track on the album — and this track has some of the strangest production I can remember hearing on a song. Almost the whole backing is a bunch of onomatopoeias that reverberate over a maraca and bass. It’s . . . unique. 

The 10th song, “EYE” featuring Snoop Dogg, heavily relies on just a few synth notes on production. This approach made the song’s beat less interesting than “K&A,” but the experience was somewhat salvaged by the performances by Aminé and Snoop. 

Overall, most of the 34 minute runtime of “Kaytraminé” has good production — save a few outliers — and consistent vocal performance. 

It’s a quality album, but looking back, the lead single seems like a bit of a tease. “4EVA” is the most exciting and fun song on the project by far — and it was disappointing not to hear “Kaytraminé” live up to the expectations set by the track.

Though I was initially disappointed, I have listened to the album at least ten times by now and will listen many times more. With songs like “Westside” and “UGH UGH” growing on me with each replay, the album has partially redeemed itself. 

Whether or not “Kaytraminé” actually made summer come early is very debatable, but it’s something I will have in rotation for many seasons to come. 

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