We've seen a glossier, '80s-influenced sound popping up on projects not only by those neon-haired warblers, but also on more street-oriented tapes like Kodak Black's Lil BIG Pac and PnB Rock's RnB 3, and under Mike's direction, he melds the best of both worlds, making Sremm's sound more grounded than that of Uzi or Yachty, but more melodic and playful than Kodak or PnB. In a surprising move for the duo and their producer, several tracks on here actually seem to take their cues from the aforementioned younger wave of new artists. Much like Lil Uzi's mentor Don Cannon, Mike Will has jumped into a bubblegum sound headfirst, with tracks like "Take It Or Leave It" and "Just Like Us" even making his production work on Bangerz seem heavy in comparison. Lest we forget, SremmLife wasn't all minimal trap, as the sunny, piano-led pop-rap of "This Could Be Us," and the fizzy electronica of "Safe Sex Pay Checks" provided some nice alternatives, but the deluxe edition of SremmLife 2 contains even more experimentation. Mike Will supplies more melodic backdrops, with the lush synth arrangement of "Look Alive" especially standing out in relation to the duo's first two singles, which, if written out in music notation, mostly consisted of a two-chord stab ("No Type") and a four-note keyboard pattern ("No Flex Zone"), respectively. The three tracks we heard before SremmLife 2 dropped- "By Chance," "Look Alive," and "Do Yoga"- are far removed from "No Flex Zone" and "No Type." All three are decidedly muted in comparison, with hooks muttered under the breath or crooned, but never shouted. That isn't the case here, especially after the release date was pushed back- if the new singles featured Swae and Jxmmi youthfully squawking some short phrases over spare trap beats, they'd sound outdated, part of the same era that gave us "U Guessed It" and "Tuesday." Were it dropping just months after the first SremmLife, this album could get by on stylistically similar tracks, as Uzi and Yachty have shown by rapid-releasing projects while their waves are still cresting. The challenge on Sremmlife 2 then, is to progress beyond the hitmaking formula that was potent back in 2014. Neither is over the age of 22, but just about 30 months after the world first heard of them, Rae Sremmurd's polarizing newness has quickly become last year's model in the ever-accelerating hype cycle. Swae notched a co-writing credit on Beyoncé's huge single "Formation," and the boys fired back directly at Ebro's allegations of ghostwriting with an inspired, 20-minute-long Tim Westwood freestyle. Not only that though, Rae Sremmurd's recent accomplishments have legitimized them in more traditional fashion. Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert, among hordes of other day-glo Soundcloud warblers, have usurped the "most loved by teens, most hated by grown men" throne from the brothers Sremmurd, doing so with an entirely new sound composed of unhinged, half-sung vocals (more indebted to Young Thug and iLoveMakonnen than Swae) and airy beats that crib elements from chillwave, cloud rap, and '80s synthpop. Just months after those Ebro shots though, Swae and Jxmmi no longer seem like hip hop's foremost trailblazing weirdos. Raising eyebrows, rubbing industry veterans the wrong way- Rae Sremmurd checked all of the "zeitgeist" boxes upon their debut. In a now-infamous interview with Complex staff members who named Sremmurd's debut album the third best project of 2015, Hot 97 personality Ebro Darden was incredulous that people could view the album on the same level as Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, or even less ambitious projects by Drake and The Weeknd, citing a lack of "bars" as his main concern. To a certain side of the rap world, "No Flex Zone" was exciting and new, hence its chart performance and freestyles by everyone from Lil Kim to Pusha T to another, it was pop-rap tripe that didn't deserve critical praise. Although Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi were 19 and 20, respectively, at the time of the song's release, their squeaky voices sounded like they could've belonged to tweens (garnering them a Kriss Kross comparison that died out as soon as they showed that they weren't one-trick ponies). Mike Will Made It, fresh off high-profile executive production jobs on Future's Honest and Miley Cyrus' Bangerz, supplied them with his most bare-bones beats yet, matching their utilitarian rapping style and creating a full-on "less is more" package. When Rae Sremmurd emerged with "No Flex Zone" about two and a half years ago, they sounded like the newest and youngest thing on the block. Rae Sremmurd mature while adding new sounds to their repertoire on "SremmLife 2."
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