For those not in the know, Rae Sremmurd, the Mississippi-bred hip-hop heroes revered for the Billboard #1 hit “Black Beatles” as well as other Hot 100 hits like “No Type,” “Swang,” and “Powerglide,” have just re-released their scrappy, promising 2015 debut album SremmLife via Interscope/UMe.

That’s right, influential multiplatinum duo Rae Sremmurd celebrate the 10th anniversary of their double-platinum breakout debut LP, SremmLife [EarDrummers/ Interscope/UMe).

SremmLife initially arrived on January 6th, 2015, going on to take the culture by storm and spawning a succession of smashes in the process. Upon release, it bowed in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200. However, its influence has only grown over the ensuing decade powered up by the 7x-Platinum “No Type,” 5x-Platinum “Come Get Her,” 4x-Platinum “This Could Be Us,” 3x-Platinum “No Flex Zone,” 3x-Platinum “Throw Sum Mo” [feat. Nicki Minaj & Young Thug], and Gold-certified “My X” and “Up Like Trump.”

With the bulk of its production helmed by Mike WiLL Made-It [Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé] and his EarDrummers production team (A Pluss, Marz), the album also notably includes guest spots from Big Sean on “YNO” and Jace of Two-9 on ”Unlock The Swag.” Additional production contributions come from Swae Lee on “No Type,” Sonny Digital, Young Chop, Soundz and Honorable C.N.O.T.E.

The Inglewood-born and Mississippi-raised brothers—Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi—ignited a stratospheric rise in the record’s wake. It’s no wonder Forbes touted them on its “30 Under 30” for 2016, and Billboard retrospectively pegged them as one of the “50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time.”

Furthermore the album is released on translucent red and as a 180-gram, double-vinyl in a gatefold configuration with the bonus track No Flex Zone (Remix) featuring Nicki Minaj and Pusha T.

Side A:
1. Lit Like Bic
2. Unlock The Swag
3. No Flex Zone

Side B:
1. My X
2. This Could Be Us
3. Come Get Her
4. Up Like Trump

Side C:
1. Throw Some Mo
2. YNo
3. No Type

Side D:
1. Safe Sex Pays Checks
2. No Flex Zone (Remix)

Without a shadow of a doubt, SremmLife was just the beginning of a breakout year for Rae Sremmurd in 2015/16.

Rae Sremmurd - which is Drummers Ear spelt backwards - were barely known back nearly ten years ago, but once this album came out, the way it had been produced, and the fact it seamlessly merged hip hop and R&B, meant that their youthful exuberance combined with massive beats blending with concert-level choruses made your ears stand up to attention!

Indeed, this was also Record Producer Mike WiLL Made-It’s return to hip-hop’s pantheon for despite basically owning 2013 (and arguably 2012 as well), making an especially large splash by providing the hip-hop underpinnings of ex-Disney starlet Miley Cyrus’ pop-charts-smashing Bangerz, the young producer spent most of 2014 outside of the spotlight; quietly assembling an army of other young producers (EarDrummers Entertainment) before making a play for re-recognition via his protégés, Rae Sremmurd.

That said, the album features a good number of other background producers backing the promising young duo’s debut full-length, but as we can see from the album’s cover, it seems as though Khalif and Aaquil Brown are the two focal points here.

On an album that gives as much as it gets, both in the converging elements of Hip Hop / R&B / Trap-Flow intensity and emotional abreaction, if you want more proof, check out the first three songs on Side A, for they alone crush the competition within fifteen minutes!

The self-proclaimed Gatekeepers of Hip Hop bring forth loud lashings of vocal effects, simplistic flow patterns and, at times, repetitive, and at times, even obnoxious late ’90s vibes that infiltrate your body like an incredible Hip Hop/R&B amalgamation virus!

Throughout this incredible album its noticeable that their three main strengths are rock solid instrumentals, uber catchy choruses and inspired melodies, that even if you don’t quite understand what they are referencing, will still have your body moving, trust me!

In truth, the biggest single off the album, “No Type” was never my own personal stand out, and might well also be their least effective track of the 45 minute show.

That said, “No Flex Zone” is a masterclass of how to put together a chorus, the bizarre Julia Stiles dancing to Biggie of “Come Get Her,” the raw openness of “My X” (a slow burn of “I Don’t F**k With You”) all still resonate today.

As for guest appearances, we get Big Sean himself joining in on the humongous “YNo,” but it’s a shame that Nicki Minaj is only restricted to a sparse hook on the R&B groover “Throw Sum Mo.”

The aftershocks of SremmLife’s impact reverberate through hip-hop to this day. Beyond landing on 2015 year-end lists from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Los Angeles Times, Complex, and more, Rolling Stone cited it as one of “The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time,” promising, “the ebullience of their debut embodies pure pop-rap joy like few records in recent memory.” Not to mention, it also paved the way for SremmLife 2 [2016], SR3MM [2018], and Sremm 4 Life [2023].

Official Purchase Link

www.RaeSremmurd.com

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