Rae Sremmurd craft boisterous trap anthems that have reached the summit of the pop charts and collected multiple platinum certifications. The Atlanta-rooted siblings Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi first surfaced in 2013 when their high-energy party cut “We” appeared on producer Mike WiLL Made-It’s Mike Will Been Trill mixtape. Momentum built rapidly two years later with the release of their proper debut album SremmLife, whose five multi-platinum singles included “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.”
Their follow-up, SremmLife 2, arrived in 2016 and also achieved platinum status, driven chiefly by the pop number-one single “Black Beatles,” their most prominent and lasting track. The 2018 triple-disc set SR3MM incorporated separate solo projects from each brother before a prolonged hiatus during which Swae secured another chart-topping hit via the Post Malone collaboration “Sunflower.” The pair reconvened for their fourth duo album, Sremm4Life, issued in 2023.
Born Khalif Brown and Aaquil Brown respectively in Whittier, California, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi moved repeatedly throughout childhood because their mother served in the United States Army, living at different times in Mississippi, Maryland, and Texas. While in Tupelo during their early teens, they belonged to the trio Dem Outta St8 Boyz, which competed on the “Wild Out Wednesday” segment of BET’s 106 & Park in 2010. After performing in successive lineups of that act, the brothers parted ways with assistance from producer Mike WiLL Made-It and adopted the name Rae Sremmurd, a backward spelling of EarDrummers, the songwriting and production collective tied to Mike WiLL.
“We” was released in February 2014 as the duo’s first official single on Mike WiLL’s Made-It Mafia label. Following a contract with major-label Interscope, the raucous “No Flex Zone,” the comparatively laid-back “No Type,” and “Throw Sum Mo” featuring Nicki Minaj and Young Thug were issued as precursors to SremmLife, which entered the Billboard 200 at number five in early 2015. All three singles became Top 40 pop hits and multi-platinum sellers. The following year the duo returned to the Billboard 200’s upper reaches with SremmLife 2, anchored by the number-one pop single “Black Beatles,” a Gucci Mane collaboration that gained wider visibility through the viral Mannequin Challenge internet video trend.
Promotion for their third album began in August 2017 with “Perplexing Pegasus,” continued through “T’d Up,” and extended to the Juicy J-assisted “Powerglide” in early 2018; these tracks appeared on the triple album SR3MM. In addition to new Rae Sremmurd material, the set contained Swaecation and Jxmtro, the solo debut full-lengths that spotlighted each brother’s contrasting persona as romantic singer and party-loving rapper. Released in May 2018, the project became their third Top Ten album.
Early in the extended Rae Sremmurd break that followed, Swae achieved a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated success with “Sunflower,” recorded with Post Malone for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. The brothers reunited and released the reflective romantic ballad “Denial” in June 2022. Further singles such as “Community D**k” featuring Flo Milli, the emotionally weary “Sucka or Sum,” and “Torpedo” preceded their fourth studio album, Sremm4Life, which arrived in April 2023. The collection included appearances by Young Thug and Future and addressed subjects ranging from partying to mental health.
