SR3MM, the triple album by Rae Sremmurd, has its share of hits, but is too long and at times, suffers from a lack of inspiration and variance.

Sigh, the Rae Sremmurd triple album actually happened. After releasing a number of singles – some attributed to Swae Lee, some to Slim Jxmmi, and some to Rae Sremmurd – SR3MM dropped on May 4, 2018.  All told, the third studio album from the Cali-born, Tupelo, Mississippi-bred hip-hop brother duo clocks in at 101 minutes and 27 tracks. Dang, that’s a whole lot of album!  To the bros credits, at least, it’s not over two-and-a-half-hours – looking at you, Chris Brown! Furthermore, there are some bright spots – you just have to dig to find them.

Disc 1: SR3MM

The first disc of SR3MMfeatures both Swae and Slim as Rae Sremmurd. Essentially, one gets the blend of the mellower Swae, and the more hard-nosed Slim.  This is typically what fans are accustomed to and ultimately, it ends up being the best of the three discs.  There are four advanced singles that appear on this disc: “CLOSE” (featuring Travis Scott), “Perplexing Pegasus”, “Powerglide” (featuring Juicy J), and “T’d Up”. 

“Powerglide”

Of the advanced singles, the best moments are “Powerglide” and “T’d Up.” “Powerglide” is dark from the start, set in a minor key. The rhythmic string ostinato is a standout feature of the production. Ultimately, the patch blends well with the hard, anchoring drums. Swae Lee flaunts his tenor pipes, particularly when employing falsetto, in all its glory. He handles the catchy hook, as well as the first two verses of the record. Slim Jxmmi arrives for the third verse of the record. He provides a great contrast to the pitched vocals of Swae, though both exhibit a certain degree of toughness. Juicy J is the hardest of them all, killing it on the fourth verse with filthy sex references and being utterly foul-mouthed.

“T’d Up”

On the stellar “T’d Up,” Metro Boomin delivers production anchored by a hard-nosed beat, with cooler synths.  “T’d Up” is jam-packed with energy and intensity. Swae Lee drops a catchy hook that serves as the centerpiece of the record.

“I’m T’d up
I didn’t see no speed bump
I T’d off
Dropped the top and screeched off...”

After dropping bars on the hook, he follows up with a verse, sounding ‘harder’ than usual. Later, he drops the third and final verse, blessing the track with his appealing, sick flow. Slim Jxmmi gets a limited role, arriving solely on the second verse. Regardless, his flow is agile, and he’s chocked-full of swagger.

In addition to the highlighted advanced singles, there’s another surefire winner: “Buckets,” featuringFuture.  This is a hard-nosed, minimalist unapologetic banger that best suits the personality of Slim Jxmmi.  The hook is dumb and explicit, yet utterly infectious.  Future does ‘Future things,’ while a less mellow, ‘unpitched’ Swae Lee is impressive as well.  Arguably, he delivers one of the best lyrics: “Ball like Porzingis, and your foot was on the line (you blew it).” Also, worth shouting out is the opener, “Up in My Cocina” and The Weekend feature, “Bedtime Stories.” “Rock N Roll Hall of Fame” naturally has number one hit “Black Beatles” in mind.

Gems: “Powerglide,” “Buckets” & “T’d Up”

Disc 2: Swaecation

The second disc is the most mellow of SR3MM – Swaecation.  If fans are to buy into the Outkast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below parallels, then Swaecation is most like The Love Below.  Don’t get it twisted though – Swae Lee is not André 3000.  Furthermore, despite some fine moments, Swaecation isn’t nearly as eclectic as The Love Below was, incorporating jazz, funk, and alternative pop to name a few styles.  Two advanced singles can be found on this disc: “Guatemala” and “Hurt to Look”.

“Guatemala”

“Guatemala” starts off okay, with lush production on the intro supporting Swae. Following the lush intro, the record develops into a rhythmic, Latin-pop record. As usual, Swae Lee sings as opposes to rap – that seems to be the way he’s trending as of late.  For the most part, he’s smoother as opposed to coarse on the single, but he has some slightly edgier moments describing him and his bae’s adventures.  Slim Jxmmi arrives nearly three minutes in with his own, pitched, pop-rap verse. It’s unfortunate. “Guatemala” is somewhere between mediocre and okay.

“Hurt to Look”

Hurt to Look” features chill, enigmatic, sensual opening sounds – great vibes to say the least. The production is smooth, in the urban contemporary vein. Once Swae Lee begins singing, a danceable groove enters, anchoring things down. He serves up the delightful chorus before delivering his verses. “Hurt to Look” has Drake vibes going on. Swae is singing as opposed to rapping, something that fans of Rae Sremmurd have long been accustomed to. Lyrically, Lee doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking or monumental, but the vibe goes a long way.

“Touchscreen Navigation”

“Hurt to Look” is the best of the two advance singles.  Beyond it, there are other notable moments.  “Touchscreen Navigation” superbly establishes the smoother vibes of this particular disc, embracing the modern day, urban contemporary sound.  Follow-up “Heartbreak in Encino Hills” continues the vibes of “Touchscreen Navigation,” but suffers from being repetitive in production and lyrical content.  In other words, nice vibe, so-so execution when it’s all said and done.

Gems: “Touchscreen Navigation” & “Hurt to Look”

Disc 3: Jxmtro

The third and final disc comes from Slim Jxmmi with his Jxmtro. This is his Speakerboxxx.  Again, it’s clear how Rae Sremmurd were inspired by the double disc, but like Swaecationdoesn’t reach the heights of The Love Below, Jxmtro doesn’t reach the heights of Spearkerboxxx.

“Brxnks Truck”

“Brxnks Truck”, one of the advance singles, is now “Way You Move”, sigh.  The brief, amped-up joint is an abrupt change of pace from “What’s in Your Heart?”, the closing cut from Swaecation.  “Brxnks Truck” features malicious, ‘seedy’ sounding production work. It definitely has the trap, and southern, hardcore rap in mind. It’s a decent banger, but not necessarily the most compelling ‘opener’ for a separate album.

“Chanel”

Besides “Brxnks Truck,” advance single “Chanel” featuring Swae Lee and Pharrell appears on Jxmtro.  If for no other reason than familiarity, it stands out on the disc.  “Chanel” features a hard-hitting beat, as well as menacing, minor-key production. Slim Jxmmi is mostly in charge of the hook, though Pharrell provides some pitched ad-libs, specifically sung in falsetto. Ultimately, it’s ultra-repetitive, but relatively catchy.

Slim Jxmmi goes on to rap the first verse, while Swae Lee follows on the second. Both verses are okay, but neither are groundbreaking.  The most interesting verse comes from Pharrell.  He quasi-sings the first half of his verse, before dropping straight rhymes, then pop-rapping in a lower register. Ultimately, it’s quirky, yet not far-fetched for him.

Beyond the “Brxnks Truck” and “Chanel,” surefire hits are hard to come by.  That’s not to say that Slim Jxmmi lacks in effort or energy, but the material is more cliché than revolutionary.  “Players Club” keeps things short and sweet, but it’s hard to be ‘inspired’ by a stripper anthem – just saying.  At least he “Keep God First” on one of the better moments from the disc, which is the seventh track.

Gems: “Brxnks Truck” & “Chanel”

Final Thoughts

Double and triple albums often end up filling more like playlists to ‘pick and choose from.’  That’s sort of what happens with SR3MM.  There are standout records, particularly on the joint disc, but with 27 songs, there’s also more forgettable ones.  What does make SR3MM more accessible than, say Chris Brown’s Heartbreak on a Full Moon is that this effort is divided evenly into three distinct discs.  What might’ve made this stronger is to have slimmed the project down even more, at least on the solo discs.  Ultimately, Slim and Swae still work best as a duo.

Overall Gems: “Powerglide,” “Buckets,” “T’d Up,” “Touchscreen Navigation,” “Hurt to Look,” “Brxnks Truck” & “Chanel”

Rae Sremmurd • SR3MM • Eardruma / Interscope • Release: 5.4.18

Photo Credit: Eardruma / Interscope