Rae Sremmurd, Swae Lee & Slim Jxmmi

Rae Sremmurd specialize in rambunctious trap-based anthems that have topped the pop charts and earned platinum certifications. Atlanta-based brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi debuted in 2013 with the lashing party track “We,” heard on producer Mike WiLL Made-It’s Mike Will Been Trill mixtape, and truly took off two years later with the chart-topping SremmLife, their official debut, featuring “No Flex Zone” and “No Type” among its five multi-platinum singles. The duo’s sophomore effort, 2016′s SremmLife 2, likewise went platinum, boosted by the number one pop hit “Black Beatles,” their biggest and most enduring single. The 2018 triple-disc SR3MM featured solo efforts from each sibling, and preceded a lengthy break during which Swae scored another number one hit with the Post Malone collaboration “Sunflower.” Swae and Jxmmi reconvened in 2022 for their fourth duo album, Sremm4Life.
Swae Lee (Khalif Brown) and Slim Jxmmi (Aaquil Brown) were born in Whittier, California, and due to their mother’s work for the United States Army, frequently moved during their childhood, spending time in Mississippi, Maryland, and Texas. While in Tupelo during their early teens, Swae and Jxmmi were members of Dem Outta St8 Boyz, a trio that competed on the “Wild Out Wednesday” segment of BET’s 106 & Park program in 2010. Years later, after performing in various iterations of that group, the pair broke away with help from producer Mike WiLL Made-It, charting their course as Rae Sremmurd — a name that is read as a backward-spelled alias for Mike WiLL’s songwriting and production syndicate EarDrummers.
In February 2014, “We” was issued as Rae Sremmurd’s first official single through Mike WiLL’s Made-It Mafia label. Throughout the rest of 2014, following the signing of a contract with major-label Interscope, the rowdy “No Flex Zone” and relatively kicked back “No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo” (featuring Nicki Minaj and Young Thug) were released as preludes to SremmLife, which in early 2015 entered the Billboard 200 at number five. All three singles were Top 40 pop hits that went multi-platinum. They quickly returned to the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 the next year with SremmLife 2, led by the number one pop hit “Black Beatles,” a Gucci Mane collaboration that gained extra exposure through its use in the viral Internet video trend known as the Mannequin Challenge.
In August 2017, Rae Sremmurd began promoting their third full-length, starting with “Perplexing Pegasus” and followed by “T’d Up” and the Juicy J-assisted “Powerglide” in early 2018. These tracks would feature on their triple album SR3MM. In addition to one disc of Rae Sremmurd material, it was also home to Swaecation and Jxmtro, the solo full-length debuts from each brother that highlighted their respective personalities as romantic singer and party-loving rapper. Released in May 2018, the album became the duo’s third Top Ten album.
Early into a subsquent extended Rae Sremmurd hiatus, Swae scored with the chart-topping, Grammy-nominated “Sunflower,” recorded with Post Malone for the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Swae and Jxmmi reunited, and in June 2022 previewed their fourth album, Sremm4Life, with the reflective romantic ballad “Denial.” ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung