Building strong relationships within the music industry is crucial for rising artists, and most of them start by showing genuine support. Yesterday (May 17), Aminé took to Twitter to share the beginnings of his relationship with KAYTRANADA, who gave him a career-pivoting push at the time with some words of encouragement. Fast forward to 2023, the two have their joint album Kaytraminé on the way, and it all started with a DM back in 2014.

The Portland rapper began by providing context about where his mindset was at nine years ago. “I was broke as f**k working on music everyday in 2014 looking for a North Star,” he wrote. Then, he shared that KAYTRANADA provided him with a helping hand. “I was kinda thinking about giving up ‘cuz s**t wasn’t really workin’ out for me. Then, [KAYTRANADA] hit me back and sent me beats for free. That put a extra battery in my back and really made me feel confident again.”

Aminé expressed gratitude to the Grammy-winning producer for helping him push through his rough patch and reminded fans that kindness goes a long way. “Who [the f**ck] knows where I’d be right now without that little push from [KAYTRANADA] that early in my career. The love you show people sometimes can really affect them in ways you couldn’t imagine. Kaytraminé ain’t no industry play. This [has] been nine years in the making,” he said.

He also shared a screenshot of the actual 2014 interaction he referenced.

Paired with the initial album announcement back in April was the project’s first single “4EVA” featuring Pharrell Williams. This past Monday (May 15), the duo followed up with “Rebuke.” They also revealed the official tracklist last Wednesday (May 10). Kaytraminé will arrive on May 19 and house assists from Freddie Gibbs, Pharrell Williams, Big Sean, Amaarae, and Snoop Dogg across 11 tracks.