The Aspiring Me – ‘TAME 4: Love & Art’ [Album Review]

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The Aspiring Me, the son of Houston hip-hop legend Big Mello, takes center stage with his self-produced album, TAME 4: Love & Art, a 10-track body of work that explores aspirational, reflective themes with a touch of bravado and playfulness. He is joined by a team of talented artists Fat Tony, Stoppa, T$unami811, Lil B The Basedgod and Jazz musician/hip-hop artist Sen Morimoto.

“Sucka Free, Pt 2” sets the tone with its bright and dreamy textures and bouncy drum groove. The title says it all and we see The Aspiring Me in his element. From staying sucka-free, losing his job due to COVID-19 and getting back on his feet, listeners get a glimpse of what makes the young rapper tick and different. This is followed by “More Water” which is a heartfelt cautionary tale about engaging in underhanded activities be it street-related or romantic. Backed by an 808-driven trap drum and gloomy soundscape, The Aspiring Me gets candid and unapologetic regarding people who are not true to themselves and puts it bluntly, “ You Worried about the streets, please go home/You can’t keep your house in control”. The next track “ Super Lift” is a braggadocio track bolstered by a thumping cinematic soundscape ripe with layered synth leads, arpeggios and distorted 808 drums. “Right On Me” sees The Aspiring Me teaming up with fellow artists Bee Honey and AmaruTMN who all help him on this uplifting track. Over a smooth soulful and bouncy backdrop, the artists count their respective blessings with joyful lines like “The sun is up-in my face-I can tell your favorite is shining bright on me/Even when I can’t engage another day/I can tell your love is shining bright on me”.

The next track “Satellite City” has a dark cinematic feel and its crisp production stands out for me. Here The Aspiring Me is joined by Fat Tony and Stoppa for a solid bravado performance ripe with stylish melodic flows drowned with autotune and parallel effects. “Kenny” has that quintessential emo-trap vibe and lives up to the title with The Aspiring Me employing a different choppy flow and subtle references to the South Park character of the same name while the legendary Lil B flexes his base-god persona on the second verse. “Deposit That” sees The Aspiring Me and T$unami811 detailing some of the ways they socialize with some ladies in their circle. They are unapologetic as they assure the ladies of some exotic scenes and then some if they choose to ride with the crew. Overall the lyrics are playful, somewhat risque but classy enough to get radio airplay. “XP” showcases The Aspiring Me’s melodic prowess to the fullest as he employs a carefree vocal run over the atmospheric soundscape. Here, he details how he keeps the baddies in rotation so his metaphorical well never runs dry. This is followed by “Euclid to Wicker Park Freestyle” featuring Jazz artist Sen Morimoto, a laidback lofi-infused downtempo track ripe with sparsely arranged piano riffs, nostalgic horns and soft drums. The lyrics tell the tale of a lovelorn lady who is enamoured by what The Aspiring Me is doing for her by going the extra mile to make her happy.

The project wraps up with the playful “Pork N Rhymes” where The Aspiring Me talks about his experiences in this game called life with lines like “I be minding me, the media wanna rewind me all the time, that my life ain’t mine/Tyring to normalize black death on my timeline” but he is all about progression and asserts the notion on the chorus as follows “I can’t press rewind so we left all that bullshit behind in this section line when they cross your path please clean your mind, no you got somewhere to go but keep these flows when you on the…”