Rae Sremmurd - Sremmlife 2

Rae Sremmurd are a hip hop duo that at first I thought I would absolutely despise.  I’m picky with rap and hip hop, always have been and probably always will be.  I’ve always been more of a conscious or experimental hip hop guy as opposed to BANGERS BANGERS AND BANGERS.  That being said, when I listened to Rae Sremmurd’s first album “Sremmlife”, I found a new found appreciation for club bangers and just straight up fun hip hop/rap.  There wasn’t a single song on there that I felt like pushed boundaries or really reinvented anything.  Yet, so many of those tracks were just plain infectious (However I still despise “No Flex Zone”, I’m sorry).  On top of that, both Swae Lee and Slim Jimmi (who make up Rae Sremmurd) have had a few really solid features in the past year.  That all being said, I was actually really interested to hear what the duo would bring out for “Sremmlife 2”. 

The duo don’t waste a single second of our time starting the party, with “Start A Party” (See what I did there).  It’s all about excitement here, between that crunching, grinding beat and the “EAR DRUMMERS” production tag (which when used correctly really pumps me up).  When the beat hits, it’s just about as loud and bass driven as you would expect from these two.  As far as lyrics go, it’s exactly what you would expect from these two as well.  But if you’re a fan of the duo’s last album, that’s far from a bad thing.  “Sremmlife” was just a whole lotta fun, and for the most part so is this.  Now if you’re expecting deep, enlightening lyrics you’re in the wrong place entirely.  However, thats not to say that the duo don’t have plenty of hilarious and quirky one liners, such as She said, "Let me guess, you a drug dealer", Said, "Nah, I just brought a lot of money and a whole lot of drugs with me"".  As far as a solid intro from these two, I don’t really have anything bad to say about “Start A Party”, it’s a solid freakin’ banger.  Up next we have “Real Chill”, featuring a verse from up and coming Kodak Black, who I’m not a fan of in the slightest.  I dig the beat on this one though, the hazy feel to it is just fantastic.  Some of the vocals throughout this track are a little goofy, at times a little too goofy, something about the delivery of "She shake it, it feel real" gets to me.  Before you know it Rae Sremmurd are referencing Ben 10 and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, these guys are seriously fearless.  But it works for them, it really makes the duo much more entertaining than other hip hop acts.  Kodak Black’s verse here isn’t nearly as entertaining, but it’s not too horribly bad either.  “Real Chill” isn’t a step down from “Start A Party”, but it’s still a solid tune.  A few tracks later we get “Look Alive”, which shows the duo on almost a Travis Scott beat.  Personally, I feel like when Rae Sremmurd give us a sung hook it works gold, and “Look Alive” is no different.  The sung hook comes off ridiculously well here, and everything else about this beat compliments the duo so well.  Their delivery on the verses is solid, overall this is really just everything I want to hear them on.   Later on in the album we get “Came A Long Way” which is more or less Rae Sremmurds version of a “rise to fame” track, which basically everyone has.  The piano and synth beat here is absolutely gold,  especially for Rae Sremmurd.  I feel like most rappers I wouldn’t have been able to take seriously on this beat AT ALL, but Rae Sremmurd simply sound at home on this beat.  Now this track may not be for everyone though, cause it is a more mature track from a duo that have made a career of making party anthems.  However, I think it’s refreshing and a solid change of pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efbnVocWBnk

Now, let’s dive into some of the album’s singles!  “By Chance” was the first track I heard off of this album, and hearing it the first time honestly I really wasn't that impressed at all.  It’s got a catchy hook, I’ll give it that, and the beat is solid.  But as far as Rae Sremmurd’s performance goes, it’s seriously bland.  I have no problem whatsoever with some drug lines here and there.  But “By Chance” is seriously one drug line after another.  I can see this being a great live performance track to hype up the crowd, but this one was just a little underwhelming for me.  However, I do see the appeal of why people dig this one, it absolutely has its moments still.  On the other hand, “Black Beatles” featuring the newly free man Gucci Mane is absolutely stellar.  These more synth driven beats continue to do wonders for the duo, and gives “Black Beatles” a much more chilly atmosphere.  Honestly, "Black Beatles" may be the best track I've ever heard from these guys.  Gucci's verse is pretty awesome actually, but in Gucci's defense the dude has seriously been on fire recently.  He continues to sound super coherent (oddly enough) and just delivering some solid verses.  "Black Beatles" is absolutely fantastic.  However, one issue that is present on this album is the fact that Rae Sremmurd have always been more of a Pop Rap duo.  That being said, most of the time it comes off great.  But that also leaves room for awful corny bangers like "Shake It Fast".  Right off the bat this beat really doesn't click with me at all.  Yea it makes you move and all, but I can literally hear beats like this on any other commercial rap track. As far as the verses go, they really aren't that much better.  Everything here is so hectic and cluttered, this is the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear.  Everything about "Shake It Fast" I could hear in literally any rap record of the last 5 years.  Then we have Juicy Jay's verse.  You know I've never been a big fan of his to begin with, and his verse here is just as over the top and over-sexualized and just plain stupid to be honest.  However, there ARE some legitimately funny lyrics here and there from Rae Sremmurd which saves the track from being 4 minutes of a waste.  Then we have the equally cringe worthy "Set The Roof" featuring Lil Jon.  Now first of all, who the hell wants Lil Jon on their hook/chorus in 2016, seriously.  He's an alright hype man, but I can't take anything he does incredibly seriously.  However, I will give this track credit, it has a much better beat than other tracks here.  Also, Rae Sremmurd themselves here end up spitting some of their most aggressive hardcore verses yet.  Also, honestly I just love the way they sound of this beat, with a stronger hook this could have been an absolute monster of a track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnVUR4ddPTk

As far as the last third of the album goes, it's pretty hit and miss.  While I usually love the duo's brief stints into more sung material, "Now That I Know" is just painful as all hell.  The intro I'm just not feeling AT ALL, even when the beat eventually hits it's just so soulless.  Now I'm huge into the alternative R&B genre, but there's also a lot of crappy artists in there as well.  THIS sounds like a real cheap knockoff of any terrible artist in that genre.  There isn't a single memorable moment here, and seriously those vocal effects floating through the background are truly laughable.  On the other hand, "Take It Or Leave It" ends up being one of the most memorable tracks on here.  The intro has this great, heavy, sluggish start with a beat that comes truly out of left field.  The hook here is pure magic, and overall this is just a real classy sounding track.  While there's a lot of party starting bangers on here, there's also a whole lot more substance than I expected, which may turn some people off but personally I love it.  But just when I thought that this album was going to end on such a great note, here comes "Do Yoga", the most insufferable track here by far.  Every ounce of substance shown on some of the tracks here is just thrown right out the window in exchange for every corny cliche in the book.  I would literally expect "Do Yoga" out of a crappy one hit wonder, it's that bad.  The beat is bizarre, the verses don't save anything at all, I can barely sit through it to be honest.


Rating: 7.2/10


Give A Listen To: "Black Beatles", "Take It Or Leave It", "Start A Party", "Look Alive"


Overall Thoughts:  If you enjoyed "Sremmlife", chances are you're going to like this just as much.  It's all about energy with Rae Sremmurd, and they have TONS of it.  There are plenty of great bangers on here, plenty of bad ones as well though.  However the duo in parts show more substance than their first studio album, depending on what you dig in your Hip Hop, you may love that or hate that.  Overall though, it's a solid record, with some of the duo's best tracks and worst tracks.