Rae Sremmurd - SremmLife 2

Rae Sremmurd
SremmLife 2
2016
Spotify

It seems like so much longer than a year ago that I reviewed 2014's SremmLife. It was brash, hollow and seemed much more LMFAO than it did Hip Hop's future. The record was tailor-made for being high and partying, but in terms of being the next best thing the odds were shakey at best. The Mississippi brothers youth has been both their greatest asset and their detractors biggest ammunition. Accusations of Ghostwriting (Mike Will Made It) and a sense that some Mili Vanilli situation was going on meant that the follow up record had to be good, and it had to punch hard. They did it. SremmLife 2 could have easily been the turnt up party anthem that their debut was, but instead the brothers have chosen a much darker and artistic path with stellar results. The firey hot energy that was all over SremmLife is here as well, but it's use is much more subtle and the call and response style rap is used along with a more classic style. This means we get a lot more thoughts and observations from Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee and their delivery is put to a test that they pass with flying colors. When the boys put out a track like "Look Alive" which features more singing than it does rapping you can see that they are going to make the bold choice despite what someone else might say.

The real meat of this record is in it's middle with the movement from track five to track eight being some of the best stuff coming out of hip hop right now. "Black Beatles" featuring Gucci Mane is an absolute achievement in production from Mike Will Made It and is only bolstered by Rae Sremmurd delivery choices. Gucci Mane's contributions are minimal, but He also doesn't detract from the song either. "Set the Roof" featuring Lil Jon is a totally bananas track that off kilter style fits so well with both Sremmurd and Lil Jon. The two coming together you would expect something just turnt up to eleven, and the song is, but it also has this incredibly satisfying surrealist vibe. "Do Yoga" which was one of the first singles really represents the growth in Rae Sremmurd. A song about the ladies who "do yoga" and "get high at night" sounds like a hack and uninspired premise but in reality Sremmurd pulls you around and the song becomes something actually quite sweet and comfortable. "Over Here" is the most bombastic track and classic Sremmurd delivery, they certainly were not going to leave their core audience hanging. Those how got Sremmurd early were on to something, but this new record is an achievement that few could have predicted. Cannot miss this record.

9.1 out of 10