Following the success of 2016's
SremmLife 2 -- home to their chart-topping single "Black Beatles" -- Atlanta trap duo
Rae Sremmurd presented their third full-length as a whopping three-part concept that included a disc of official
Rae Sremmurd tracks, as well as solo offerings from both rapper
Slim Jxmmi and his crooning counterpart
Swae Lee. At 27 tracks, the complete
SR3MM is a lot to absorb, following the overstuffed album trend favored by contemporaries like
Migos,
Drake, and
Post Malone. Songs -- divided into nine per disc -- also tend to blend together, with their ominous,
Gucci Mane Jr. trap menace bleeding from one to another. As a result, outliers immediately jump out as highlights. On disc one,
SR3MM, standouts include the irresistible
Juicy J-assisted "Powerglide" and the slinky
Weeknd collaboration "Bedtime Stories."
Future and
Travis Scott also make appearances on a pair of
Mike Will Made It productions. Moving on to "Swaecation" --
Swae Lee's time to shine -- production veers into lush
Weeknd territory.
Swae's vocal performance is the star of the show -- the only features here are
Young Thug and
Slim Jxmmi -- at once vulnerable and mischievous, poising him as a romantic heartthrob on "Heat of the Moment" and "Guatemala," the latter of which sounds like the sonic sibling to
Swae's collaboration with
French Montana, "Unforgettable." "Touchscreen Navigation," "Hurt to Look," and "What's in Your Heart?" also press pause on the
Rae Sremmurd trap and take
Swae even deeper into the
Weeknd zone, pop-friendly gems that also combine the addictive moodiness of
Drake's pop hits and
Kanye West's
808s & Heartbreak. If
Swae Lee is the
Andre 3000 on this millennial echo of
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,
Slim Jxmmi is the tough-talking
Big Boi. With booming-bass trap anthems dedicated to strippers, style, and smoke, "Jxmtro" features production by
Mike Will Made It and
Zaytoven, as well as appearances by Zoe Kravitz,
Pharrell,
Trouble, and Riff 3X. The bratty "Anti-Social Smokers Club," lurching "Chanel," and elastic "Juggling Biddies" are highlights. Taken as a whole --
SR3MM is nearly two hours long -- the album is a serious time investment. However, broken up into three parts as intended, it provides a trio of easily digestible bites that gives
Swae Lee and
Slim Jxmmi freedom to indulge their own artistry while maintaining their bond as a duo. ~ Neil Z. Yeung