Rae Sremmurd

In a hip-hop landscape dominated by lo-fi mumble rappers and woozy Future-isms, Rae Sremmurd’s 2014 debut single, “No Flex Zone”, hit like the high beams of an 18-wheeler lighting up an interstate at night. Atop a chiming Mike WiLL Made-It beat, the Tupelo-reared fraternal duo of Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee let loose with an excitable, squealing flow that was as delightfully disorienting as their handle (a reverse spelling of EarDrummers, a.k.a. the Mike WiLL Made-It imprint to which they signed). Rae Sremmurd embraced their role as the eccentric, freaky-fashioned emissaries of feel-good hip-hop, and with their chart-topping 2016 smash, “Black Beatles”, the duo crafted an infectiously melodious trap anthem that invoked the Fab Four as a yardstick for their own world-domination dreams. But in the ever-sharpening contrast between Slim’s rugged strip-club-prowling persona and Swae’s cosmic loverboy vibe, Rae Sremmurd recall another irreverent Southern rap duo. Outkast’s 2003 split-personality set Speakerboxx/The Love Below provided the blueprint for Rae Sremmurd’s ambitious 2018 triple-LP package, SR3MM, which supplemented the duo’s namesake record with individual full-album showcases for Slim (Jxmtro) and Swae (Swaecation). However, unlike Outkast, these solo sojourns were less a sign of a duo drifting apart than a process of shoring up individual strengths for the greater good. “At the end of the day, we understand that we’re Rae Sremmurd,” Swae tells Apple Music. “We’re separate entities, but the big [thing] is when we come together.”