Rei Ami is an up-and-coming Pop star whom I have been very excited about since she first popped off a few years ago. From the moment I discovered her, I have thought that she had so much star power. There is something about her sound, style, and overall attitude that pops in an awesome way. She is the kind of artist who will captivate anyone when they discover her; Rei Ami has an image that sticks out from the crowd in the best way, and her music is super eclectic, unique, and cool; she has an element to her artistry that can make her appeal to a very wide range of Pop music fans. Rei Ami first burst onto the scene, when her unofficial first track, ‘TRIPPIN’ TODDLERS,’ went viral on Soundcloud and Youtube. Immediately following the success of ‘TRIPPIN’ TODDLERS,’ she put out two more singles, ‘MAKE IT MINE’ and ‘SNOWCONE,’ which both did numbers in online music forums and on YouTube, putting her on the map as one to watch. ‘MAKE IT MINE’ was the first song of Rei Ami’s that I heard, and it immediately had me hooked on her sound and style and left me wanting more. After spending the next couple of years dropping more singles like 2019’s ‘DICTATOR,’ 2020’s ‘MAC AND CHEESE,’ and 2021’s ‘do it right’ featuring Aminé, Rei Ami dropped her debut mixtape, FOIL, in the summer of 2021. This mixtape received lots of praise from Alternative Pop music fans online everywhere, and it cemented Rei Ami as one to watch in the Alternative Pop scene. After taking the next couple of years off from making solo music(she did a couple of features in 2021 and 2022, but did not put out anything new herself), Rei Ami returned in 2023 with a new EP called shhh. If this EP is anything like her first mixtape in terms of sound and quality, it will further assert her place as one of the most riveting Alternative Pop artists on the rise today. With that being said, here is how I feel about Rei Ami’s new EP shhh. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from shhh, and also comment on how you feel about the EP as a whole.
Rei Ami gets shhh started on a gritty and harsh note with the song ‘random acts of violence.’ This song has the kind of sound and energy that I could totally see going viral on TikTok. ‘random acts of violence’ has an attitude and sense of rebelliousness to it that I can just imagine so many people either making creepy edits of their favorite shows to or doing some unusual dance to while wearing skull makeup or something of that nature. This song is driven by a funky and fascinating bassline that injects so much energy into me when I hear it. This is the kind of song I would listen to before I am about to do something devious; it has a cunning and sinister element to it that I love. The beat for this song is simple, rhythmic yet poignant. The beat fits the melody so well and adds to the negative feeling of the song. There is so much distortion on this instrumental and on the vocals which makes it pop. The distortion that saturates this track makes it hit so much harder. Rei Ami’s vocals on this track almost have a sing-songy element to them, giving ‘random acts of violence’ a hypnotizing element that I love. Her vocal performance on ‘random acts of violence’ makes me want to follow her into doing whatever evil act she is leading me to. On ‘random acts of violence,’ Rei Ami is singing about getting revenge on those who have hurt her. She is not going to sit back and take it anymore, and she is going to fight back and defend herself. ‘body bag,’ which is the second single released in anticipation of this EP, is the sort of wild Pop-Trap track that I could not see many other artists trying to make. This is the kind of song that may not be for everyone, but it is necessary and innovative. Music like this is what pushes the genres of Pop and Hip Hop forward. ‘body bag’ is a highly distorted Pop-Trap track that is extremely intense and abrasive. The instrumental for this one is super brash and bold; it has a vigorous energy that I love. This is a song I will definitely be adding to my workout playlist because it pumps me up so much when I put it on. As intriguing and fun as the instrumental for this track is, the thing that stands out the most is Rei Ami’s vocal performance. She shows her range on ‘body bag,’ rapping with a variety of different flows and tones that keep the listener on their toes. She also sings the hook for ‘body bag’ in a delicate way that contrasts the instrumental. Her delivery on the hook of this track makes the song feel all the more dark because of how softly it is delivered. On ‘body bag,’ Rei Ami raps and sings about how she wants to kill her enemies and how she knows she is starting to make it big because of the amount of haters she is accumulating. ‘yellow tape,’ which was the first single released before this EP came out, has a slightly lighter and more inviting sound than the songs that precede it. ‘yellow tape’ is a song that feels like an ultramodern version of some of the Y2K Pop music that the world was so obsessed with 20 years ago. I can hear the influence of artists like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera on ‘yellow tape;’ in particular, it makes me think of songs like Britney’s ‘Toxic’ or Christina’s ‘Dirrty.’ There are multiple things about ‘yellow tape’ that make it sound fresh and futuristic, though. It does not have nearly as clean a sound as that kind of Y2K music; instead, it is full of heavy distortion and all sorts of weird, robotic sound effects that help it sound so pioneering. There is also a beat switch about halfway through the song which gives the song a Pop-Trap sound that makes it fit into the landscape of Pop and Hip Hop of today so nicely as well. Like ‘body bag,’ Rei Ami’s vocal performance on ‘yellow tape’ is dynamic and compelling. She changes up her flow, tone, and overall delivery multiple times throughout this track; making this song so entertaining and full of life. On ‘yellow tape,’ Rei Ami is calling out someone who always screws up her energy when they come around and puts her in a negative mood whenever they enter the same space as her.
The title track of this record, ‘shhh,’ brings back the intensity and brazenness we got from the first couple of songs in a big way. ‘shhh’ is a mind-blowing track with multiple beat changes and switches up in sound that keeps the listener on their toes. It is amazing how complex this song is considering it is only 2:38. The beginning of the track has a fast-paced Industrial Pop sound. About a quarter of the way through the song, there is a brief break in the intensity of the track, with the melody and beat getting way softer and brighter. This break lasts for about 20 seconds, as the intensity and brashness we got earlier in the track come back tenfold. The instrumental goes back and forth between Industrial Trap and Pop to close out the track. The beat speeds and slows down multiple times at the end of ‘shhh,’ almost giving me whiplash as a listener. The vocal performance on ‘shhh’ is just as wild as the instrumental is. Throughout the Industrial parts of the song, Rei Ami scream-raps the lyrics with an energy that matches the instrumental well. During the brief Pop break in the track, Rei Ami sings in a dainty way that helps bring the mood of the track back down before the instrumental and her vocals explode again to close out the track. On ‘shhh,’ Rei Ami is talking about getting revenge and exposing someone who has really hurt her. Rei Ami closes out shhh with the song ‘what have i done?’ To be honest, this song is a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the EP. ‘what have i done?’ is not a bad song by any means(in fact, it is still very good), but it does feel a bit understated when compared to the rest of the EP. This is an Industrial Trap song with a simple yet foreboding melody that has a sinister and creepy element to it. As the song progresses, it gets more saturated and distorted, culminating in a crescendo of sound at the end that ends the EP in a pretty fierce manner. This song probably contains the most mundane vocal performance of the record. Rei Ami’s vocal performance on this song is not nearly as gripping as the performance on some of the other tracks, which may be one of the reasons I am not drawn to this song as much. On ‘what have i done?,’ Rei Ami is singing and rapping about succumbing to negative urges and committing the kind of crimes or acts that she knows will get her in big trouble. ‘what have i done?’ may not be as severe or powerful as the music that precedes it, but it is still a solid track that shows another side to Rei Ami’s artistry that I appreciate.
Once in a while, an artist comes along that draws me into them in every way. Everything about Rei Ami is invigorating and distinctive; from her attitude to her image to her eclectic and unordinary music, Rei Ami is truly unlike anyone else. Every few years, there are artists who come along with a sound and style that is totally outside the box of what people are used to(Rina Sawayama and Ashnikko come to mind, for example). These artists may not be completely understood by the general Pop music listening world when they first emerge, but they always end up having a massive impact and end up inspiring the artists in their genre who come after them. Rei Ami fits this bill, and shhh is a perfect example of this point. shhh is an edgy and bold project that pushes the boundaries of what Pop music is supposed to be. This EP proves how talented and eccentric Rei Ami can be; there is no one like her in music right now, and it seems like she has no limits to what she can do. shhh is an awesome EP that I can not get enough of. I will definitely be bumping this EP very frequently for the foreseeable future, and it gets me very excited to see what Rei Ami does next.
EAST SIDE VIBES 