Finally, not only have Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi reunited, but this month they released their fourth studio album, Sremm 4 Life. Tapping into some of the best producers in the game to help bring this project to life, S4L was handled by the likes of Mike Will Made It, Zaytoven, Murda Beatz, and many others.
Every beat hits hard and matches the brothers’ smooth vocals perfectly. Both Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi are capable of contributing to or creating, hits on their own, but when the two are on a unified front, they without question make some of the best music in the genre.
Although Rae Sremmurd is not known for high-level lyrical content, their raps always seem to hit the soul, and the two carry every record they’re on for the most part. The features on this album were kept to a minimum, with Young Thug showing up on the track “Royal Flush,” and Future saucing on “Activate.” Young Thug delivers one of his better verses on S4L, considering you can make out pretty much every word he says on the first listen. “Activate” isn’t my favourite song personally, and that’s saying something considering how much I love Future, but by no means does it not belong on the album. I mentioned Murder Beatz a moment ago, and he really came through on the production for “Bend Ya Knees.” It’s the cleanest beat on S4L sonically and has the catchiest hook.
The hardest track is “Flaunt It/Cheap.” The verses go hard and are more of Slim Jxmmi’s style, and is the closest thing to old school or boom-bap hip-hop on the whole joint. It really highlights why these two are such an awesome duo: Swae Lee can harmonize and write the catchy hooks, while Slim Jxmmi can really spit and emcee when it’s called for. A lot of the songs are quite formulaic, and the content of Rae Sremmurd’s lyrics hasn’t evolved in any way, shape, or form. That being said, I don’t think they’re interested in changing, and I think we should all be OK with that. Not every rapper should abandon hip-hop to go and make pop and rock songs. It’s the authenticity of Rae Sremmurd and albums like Sremm 4 Life that keeps us engaged with the group. This album is by no means a “must-listen,” but if you’re a fan of modern rap and are looking to turn up, you could play S4L from front to back and wouldn’t be disappointed.
