When Mike WiLL Made-It first announced that the next Rae Sremmurd album, SR3MM, was going to be a triple-disc album—one by Swae Lee, another one by Slim Jxmmi, and a third by both—it was an ambitious plan.
But considering the brothers delivered a series of buoyant hits on 2015’s SremmLife and 2016’s SremmLife 2, they’d alluded to having the range to fill three new records with even more interesting work. SR3MM is proof of that.
listen below:
This begins with Swae Lee’s evolution on Swaecation. The melodic angel has always used his voice as a form of instrumentation in his music, but never as pleasantly as he has done here. While he is still partially indebted to production and unable to fully make his voice the highlight throughout, Swae’s vocals are a crucial part of each song on this record. Musing over love on tracks like “Red Wine”, (produced by the incredible G.Ry and NEENYO, responsible for many of modern R&B’s staple tunes) the album’s more melodic beats are where Swae’s latest manifestation is heard clearest. He is establishing himself as a highly progressive artist, one who steeps himself in smooth R&B, distilling the chaos of young love and lust into vital, undeniable pop.
Peep the Guatemala Video below:
Behind the booth, Swae has surrounded himself with an eclectic cast of producers who manage to leave their sonic fingerprints everywhere without smudging the final product. “Hurt to Look” is an exuberant cut produced by FWDSLXSH and Bizness Boi, the architects of some of 6LACK’s standout tracks, as well as London’s-own EY. The song is a slowly intoxicating composition, suspending Swae’s vocals atop a drum pattern and retro-synth pop beat. His hooks are captivating, and the production choices are primed for ubiquity. “Touchscreen Navigation” in particular is a display of undeniable cotton candy pop prowess, with its arena-ready synths, island-flavored garnishes, and wispy vocals co-produced by Singawd, yet another long-time collaborator of 6LACK. Swaecation is a tender passion project that allows one of hip hop’s most melodically gifted stars to explore outside the familiar template that has brought him success thus far. Simply put, Swae Lee has delivered his most earnest and wholesomely candid work to date.