Streaming Consciously: The Ultimate Fraternal Turn-Up Tandem Returns In Search Of A Second Sremm Life
For any musical act who drops a great debut, the sophomore jinx is a real thing.
This is especially true when we’re talking hip-hop.
Moreover, if we’re talking hip-hoppers from places most folks don’t know about.
Like say, uh…Tupelo…honey.
Word to Van the Man.
Allow me to introduce…Rae Sremmurd.
Who the hell is that, you ask?
Well, that’s Drummer’s Ear spelled backwards…obviously.
Why is that, you ask?
Why, it’s because Mike-Will-Made-It.
And MikeWillMadeIt it's now safe and fair to say...
based not just off Rae Sremmurd's first two albums but also his contributing some of the best singles in the careers of Miley, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye and Juicy J...
is officially a legendary producer,
that is if he wasn't considered one already by now,
in this high-speed-wireless-universe, where we currently exist.
Speaking of hip-hop production legends, MikeWillMadeIt is also a producer often compared with Jermaine Dupri.
This is particularly the case when it comes to Rae Sremmurd, since on at least a few superficial levels they remind some of us who came of age during the early 90's of Kriss Kross.
However despite that fact,
or perhaps because of it on some level...
these young Rae Sremmurd boys continue to bring it with a bona fide Adderall-addled swagger that always feels like a breath of fresh air every time you hear it, especially when *we*
(or me...and you....your mama...and her cou-sin too)
first heard “No Flex Zone” two years ago.
Yet my own ear drums still weren't fully convinced that the Ear Drummers spelled backwards had staying power.
Then I heard the album (SremmLife).
Then I heard this follow up (SremmLife2), which came out just a few hours before writing this.
So now, armed with this arsenal of additional information?
Let’s get one thing straight…these boys ain’t Kriss Kross.
Never Have Been.
Nor Ever Will Be.
And if anyone thinks this is the kind of joyful noise that somebody like me shouldn't be listening to at age 40?
Chile please, may I now and forevermore plead guilty.
Because having fun is still for me, while growing up remains highly overrated.
Historically, most of the great music we experience in our lives is infused with the raw energy of youthfulness.
This particular album?
I won’t bother breaking down.
Like its predecessor it's an exuberant full album dose,
a quick-hit containing that unbridled young enthusiasm,
which all just reminds me of some purely essential truth:
Energy this infectious is typically a trait only possessed during youth.
The lead off track is called "Start A Party".
The lead single is a hilarious attempt to make the phrase "by chance" become the 2016 version of "pardon me" or "but of course" from the old Grey-Poupon ads.
Meanwhile these two brothers weren't even born when that commercial was in actual rotation on our non-HD televisions.
I'm just glad this pair of siblings, somewhere along the line, jumped into my mental recording booth.
But don't take my word for it, click any link in here if you want the actual and factual proof.
You're Only As Young As You Feel.
Rae Sremmurd is the real deal.
This would be the case regardless of what they’ve already done or where they worked so hard to come from.
Which for those too lazy to Google…is Tupelo, Mississippi.
Born from the same womb 18 months apart.
Let me use this space here to say “thank you” to that more-than-likely amazing lady.
Your boys are some superstars now.
Ours ears have felt the funky-drummer-drumming ever since.
Wudder Weight: 4 Ear Drums Of 5
Key Tracks:
^^^THIS IS HOW YOU START A PARTY
