I’ve unknowingly been listening to KAMI for a little while now; he was the other dude in Leather Corduroys with Joey Purp, but I had no idea who he was until this album came out around a week ago. I gave it a listen because of the Knox Fortune executive production credit and the features from some Chicago/Save Money names you might recognize like Vic Mensa, Towkio and Purp. Noisey actually did a pretty good Q&A with KAMI last December that’s worth the read if you enjoyed the album.
This surprised the hell out of me in a good way. KAMI and Knox took a lot of creative “risks” here and the majority of them paid off. I put risks in italics because the dude is still at the point in his career where he can experiment with his sound to see what sticks. The first four tracks incorporate a rock vibe with some 80s flair, especially on “Home Movies,” and those stupid synths/weird baselines somehow sounds great together. The autotune is there, but it’s used delicately (he doesn’t sound like he’s underwater) and effectively.
The mood shifts at “Miami: White Limousines” and continues for three tracks after the interlude. The beats are less upbeat, the synths are heavier, and the beats lurk and pulsate in the background as KAMI’s mic skills come to the forefront. The autotune is kicked up a notch (he’s underwater a lot), but it fits the shift in mood nicely. KAMI spends more time rapping conventionally here while still singing in autotune on the hooks. The vibes come off as moody but not quite whiny, especially on the standout “Feel Better.”
The last four songs are harder to pin down because they don’t really fit in with the first two parts of the album but also don’t mesh as a foursome. However, KAMI goes off on “Foundation” and raps for over three minutes with no breaks/hook, covering ground from own insecurities to the injustices of his world. The dark beat just plods along and lets the bars speak for themselves. The song is pretty raw.
Not everything on the album works, though. Yes, the rapping on “Foundation” is nice, but it leaves you wondering why KAMI didn’t do more of it on the rest of the album. The posse cut “Just Like the Movies” left something to be desired both lyrically and sonically, and songs like “Runaway” and “The Both of Us” feel like throwaways. The features don’t bring a ton to the table, and a solid Vic Mensa verse is let down by the beat choice on “Right Now.” KAMI also strays into Travis Scott’s yard with some of the heavier autotune usage in the middle of the album. It sounds fine, but the last thing a relatively unknown artist needs is to fall into the shadow of someone else’s sound.
It took some time, but this album ended up growing on me quite a bit. Save Money/Leather Corduroys fans will enjoy this effort, but so will people who have no idea who they are. There are missteps and growing pains, but there are just as many high points and creative choices that turned out quite well. KAMI’s future looks bright because he owns his own little plot of land in the audio landscape, and he is at his best on “Just Like Movies” when he explores that space.