Sremmlife 2 (2016) – Rae Sremmurd

Am I surprised to be underwhelmed by these pop-trap brothers? Not really, but, at the very least, I expected, and got some, hype music out of it. For a casual trap fan like me, there’s not much to bask in when there are literally hundreds of other acts just like them. Then again, those acts don’t have a “No Flex Zone” or “No Type” to their names. And then again, if they were marketed better, they would. Not particularly great singles, but their hooks are pretty distinguishable. Unfortunately, nothing among these new batch of songs pops out quite like those two. While the songs are competent, it’s not easy to distinguish which hooks will prove to be chart-worthy. Three singles have been released long before the release of this album, but it’s not shocking to see none of them have cracked the Billboard Hot 100. That’s not to say that none of them will grab people in the future, but none of them have that instant appeal, except for maybe “Shake it Fast,” a pretty hilarious guilty pleasure of mine.

It’s not necessarily a sophomore slump, but rather a sophomore slog. It’s far from unusual for artists to retain the same sound on their next effort, but there’s hardly anything on here that Sremmlife didn’t do just a little bit better. It also makes you wonder where these trappers will go if and when trap fades away or evolves. For now, it’s nothing that Young Thug and Future can’t do better. Still, the Brown brothers hit that perfect balance of radio potential. They aren’t as unpredictable as Thug or as demoralizing as Future. But that’s also the unfortunate part. Other than their voices, you can’t really distinguish them from any other trap artists. They’ve had their 15 minutes of fame (twice) with their hit singles, but in order to take them seriously, they’ll need something of a revamp. Until that time comes, there are only, at best, some ok things about this record.

They’re young, so they haven’t lost their sense of fun. Check. It’s all pretty hype, so it’s good background party music for just about any occasion. The lyrics are passable as far as braggadocio goes, but I’m not expecting Kendrick or Common level lyricism anyways. Only when they sing is when I cringe a little (that and the possibly ridiculous but welcome Lil Jon inclusion). This isn't because of the autotune, but because their voices have no traces of intimacy at all, especially when they try and slow things down. On the deluxe edition, “Just Like Us” is a thoughtful exception, which ends the album on a high note. On the standard edition, “Do Yoga” is an atypical closer, an alright song which makes no attempt to wrap things up or go out with a bang. It would’ve been best to omit the slower ones near the end; they aren’t suited for the brothers anyways. But aside from those missteps, it’s a total swag-fest. In the end, that’s the silver lining and only fair criteria. Bordering on generic, but almost never boring. Unambitious trappers, but I won’t hold that against them. B

(Key Tracks: "Shake it Fast," "Look Alive," "Set the Roof")