Rae Sremmurd - SR3MM

Rae Sremmurd
SR3MM
2018
Spotify

I've avoided reviewing the TRIPLE ALBUM release from Rae Sremmurd because, well good god it's a triple album. However to much has been made, and culture too rocked by the dynamic hip hop duo to avoid it any longer. SR3MM , Swaecation and Jxmtro are all packed together, nine tracks each, because what is more bad ass and self indulgent than releasing a triple album? The first part of the record is the two together, then their first solo records, first Swae Lee then Slim Jxmmi. When Childish Gambino said The Migos were the new Beatles Rae Sremmurd responded by making a track called "Black Beatles" and they were probably right. Sremmurd more than Migos feel like they have a hold of the youth culture so tight. There are so many imiators when you go on youtube and soundcloud dives, everyone trying to find this Rae Sremmurd and Mike-WIL vibe. Their rap game has stepped up leaps and bounds on this new record. "Perplexing Pegasus" has the duo flossing hard as fuck all while weaving diverse vocals over this stunner of a track. They feel so effortless in their stance, so happy to be doing what they are doing that it is instantly infectious. Their anger becomes your anger, their party your party as the get into what it means to be young, black, famous and talented as hell. When Sremmurd first came out so much was made of Mike-WIL's influence on the group, with some accusations of a Milli Vanilli situation unfolding. However while Mike_WIL's beats are undeniable amazing, Rae Sremmurd have proved their contributions are just as valuable if not more so.

"42" has this totally strange almost bassed out circus beat as Swae and Jxmmi bounce to and fro all from the basis that Saw wears a European suit size "42". There may have been a point where Rae Sremmurd's lyric could be called suspect, but those days are long gone. SR3MM is the strongest of the three records, proving the duo work better when they have each other to bounce off of. Swae Lee's Swaecation is the more pop ready of the group, but also reveals less about Sawe as an artists. The sound is infectious but it ends up being Jxmmi who goes into what it has meant growing up quickly and finding his own brand of happiness. Swae Lee feels like He's taken a California vacation, which the album is clearly about, while Jxmmi was doing some soul searching. Jxmmi feels like He took Jxntro as an opportunity to reveal more about himself and the album benefits. I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but you are starting to see an Outkast type of evolution going on here with each new record becoming more diverse and better than the last. The albums are incredibly different but it's the melding of both that garner the best results. SR3MM is really a stellar album, whether you like trap or not. Rae Sremmurd are setting the stage for hip hop right now, it feels like everyone else is just playing.

8.9 out of 10