"Start A Party", the first song, is an amazing start. From the very first second, this amazing hip-hop rave mood is set, with perfect production by Pluss and P-Nazty. This song is perfect at what it sets out to do: start a party, and the intro is legendary.
"Real Chill" doesn't captivate on the precedent set by "Start A Party". It sounds like a discount 2 Chainz song, with lazy production by Mike Will Made It. Kodack Black's feature really doesn't add much to the song, and this just ends up being a mediocre attempt at a bop. Furthermore, the flow of everyone on this track sounds awkward, with words running over each other. Lastly, the song is just too long.
The album starts to get good, with "By Chance". It's a sleazy, club banger with a piano beat reminiscent of 2 Chainz. The bass is hard, and the nonchalant delivery on the hook and verses just make this song so great. "By Chance" quickly segways into "Look Alive", another great track off of the album. The Swae Lee-sung, swinging, hook is so catchy. However, Jimmy's verse is rather boring, and Swae Lee's flow is completely awkward. This song had a lot of potential, squandered in the verses.
"Black Beatles", ft. Gucci Mane, is undoubtedly the best song on Sremmlife 2. The hook sounds almost somber, with lines like "I sent flowers/ but you said you didn't receive them/and you said you didn't need them". The hook actually has emotions besides "party-hard". The way that Swae Lee sadly laments "Screaming everybody's famous..." actually makes me feel something for the duo, as if they are more than the party-hard, stereotypical hype rappers that they portray themselves as. While Gucci Mane's verse is underwhelming, Slim Jimmy does absolutely amazing on this song. He packs aggression and power in his verses that you don't really find anywhere else with him, shout-rapping "I had haters when I was broke/ I still got haters". I throw the word catchy around a lot, but "Black Beatles", with the engrossing, dual synth, bass-heavy Mike Will production and beneath-the surface lyrics, is the perfect definition of the word catchy.
...And that's it for the album. They grouped the best five songs at the start, leaving us with average club bangers like "Shake it Fast". Though Juicy J does do good on this song, Rae Sremmund sounds almost boring on this track, with simply filthy lyrics, and not in the good way. "Set The Roof" ft Lil Jon shows just how much Lil Jon is out of place in modern rap; he, with his "super hypeman" peronsa, just seem unneeded on the track. Swae Lee continues to be the stronger half of Rae Sremmund.
"Came A Long Way" is Rae Sremmund's attempt at a come-up song, but their average lyrics and flow don't really mesh with the strong and almost sappy production. "Now That I Know" is almost good, Sremmund's take at R&B. It's a little too bass-heavy, and it seems like the ugly brother of "This Could Be Us."
"Take it Or Leave It" is a pretty average rap set to a smooth beat, It's certainly not the worst song on the album, but there are a lot better that I would rather listen to. "Do Yoga" is a pretty good end to the album, with a very minimalistic beat and that signature nonchalant rapping.
Overall, Sremmlife 2 is a great evolution to the original Sremmlife. However, as a standalone album, it doesn't quite hold up. Swae Lee carries most of the album, and for the most part, Slim Jimmy just didn't do much. The last 6 songs just seem like filler; I mean, I couldn't even think of what to say for half of them. If the second half of Sremmlife 2 held up to the great start that the album had, or if they just stuck the first 5 in an EP, I would've given Sremmlife 2 a much higher rating than I am now. But sadly, Sremmlife 2 ends up sounding more like Sremmlife 1 1/2.
Final Verdict:
60/100
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