The Rae Sremmurd album was destined to happen. In a fate that some of the greatest singles ever were never afforded, Interscope money has provided an album to house last year’s “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.” The two songs, amidst the taking off of Bobby Shmurda’s star, lit up Billboard charts last year. The Mississippi duo makes up the latest rags to riches story in rap, a genre that has those in spades. Now, they’re party rappers with the affable candor to match. Listening to SremmLife, it doesn’t take very long to remember where else this has popped up: Kriss Kross.
To say this Bad Creation has unlocked the swag is an understatement, as Rae Sremmurd’s Slim Jimmy shared with Pitchfork’s Coran Gable when asked the worst thing about being on the road, “You can’t stop ‘em from wanting to have sex with you. It’s just crazy. You want to stop ‘em sometimes, like, “I wanna play my Playstation.”” The lyrics are odes to being cool and having sex, which is typical of males 18-25. It works because the songs are tolerable, and not long removed from the inaccessible party-rock parody of LMFAO. The duo advocate condom use as much as their status of “creation of the early-90s” suggests but are experienced enough to know LifeStyles break easily enough without trying to use one to wrap an eggplant.
The best and worst part of SremmLife, however, is Rae Sremmurd’s age. Despite a wealth of positive aspects (fantastic production, hooks, features), this album goes as far as the beats and hooks take it. Turns out, it’s farther than expected, as Mike Will Made It is never hesitant to show off his ability to turn water into bangerz. “Unlock the Swag” and “Safe Sex Pay Checks” are great songs that hold up the album’s massive hits and all four are spread evenly throughout the album. “My X” and “This Could Be Us” are innocuous, but strong enough for the middle to tie the whole album together.
Slim Jimmy and Swae Lee aren’t phenomenal rappers, which is occasionally a detriment to SremmLife. A handful of these songs would be enhanced by losing the vocal track altogether and the lion’s share of which would be best left in the hands of more original and capable rappers, which is made painfully obvious on album highlight “Throw Sum Mo” when Nicki Minaj and Young Thug snatch the track from the children. There’s no stepping around the rapping holding this album back. It’s a critique I made regarding ScHoolboy Q’s humdrum performance on Oxymoron. But like Q on Oxymoron, Rae Sremmurd’s aesthetic is cohesive throughout SremmLife and they absolutely deserve a chance to improve in that department and release another major label album. Until then, it may be time for these rap game Japandroids to go into hibernation for the rest of cuffin’ season. Mike Will Made It was the MVP of this album anyways.
Album Rating: 3.5/5
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