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Friday night (Aug. 8) was rockin' at the midtown Chung King Studios, where an assorted crowd of about seventy folks gathered to hear the latest of what Mike WiLL Made It's newest artists Rae Sremmurd had to offer up next. The brothers, who answer to their individual monikers of Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy, arrived around 9 PM with their mentor, the Eardruma label founder and renown producer Mike WiLL. The two were signed by the Georgia native only last year, and have already begun to make ripples in the industry with their carefree, true Southern funk-influenced hip-hop.

The night started as any other listening session would, with the hazy air thick with casual chatter, the occasional slosh from a red Solo cup, and some of the latest hip-hop bumping through the studio's powerful speakers. However, after the boys were given a warm introduction by Mike WiLL, the atmosphere became nothing less than turned all the way up. The brothers were each tossed a mic, and quickly went to work, performing their released singles “No Flex Zone” and a new banger "We." The performance, which they informed the crowd was going to be shot and included in the official video, only got everyone even more excited. future. Once the scene was established as a video shoot, it was a done deal -- all in attendance began to wild out, led by the infectious energy of Swae and Slim.

With the room's momentum off the Richter scale, the two previewed new material from their upcoming EP, SremmLife. “No Type”, their next single from the EP, is a bass-heavy joint with another one of Swae's characteristic melodic hooks, an apparent homage to the “bad bitches”: “I don't got no type/bad bitches the only type I like!” The single was followed by a slew of other tracks, including “Donald Trump”, “Illest Nigga Walking”, and “Throw Some Mo”, a pretentious track that you know will be making it's rounds at King of Diamonds on the weekends.

Thereafter, the duo stepped aside to make room for Mike WiLL, who announced the forthcoming release of his mixtape, Ransom, a project ridden with features from the Eardruma roster, including Two-9 and Yung Joey, who also performed a joint from the mixtape. It also has some other industry heavy hitters, like Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Future, who appeared on “Buy The World”, which was released June of this year.

After the inundation of their new music, XXL caught up with Mike WiLL and Rae Sremmurd for more details. When asked about what they hope to offer to the industry, the energetic duo emphasized that they were here to make music that's beyond typical topics of violence and gunplay. As Swae Lee answered, “It's just something refreshing...we're just being ourselves and being fun, just giving the people what they want.” From behind his infamous gas mask, Slim Jimmy told us that much of their inspiration is derived from hip-hop's biggest duos, citing the likes of Kid 'n Play and Ying Yang Twins, and surprise muses like Bon Jovi. The duo promise to bring this inspirational diversity to SremmLife, speculated to be released in the coming months.

“We're definitely going to incorporate the Southern [hip-hop] sound, 'cause we can't help that; that's natural. But we definitely breaking out the box – we got pop shit and rock shit comin'.” Singing the praises of of Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Juicy J and others who have caught the “No Flex Zone” spirit and remixed it with their own verses, Swae and Slim compared experiencing the whirlwind of industry support felt like “a baby getting Enfamil” and “the first time hitting the blunt.”

Mike WiLL, who credits long-time friend and Rae Sremmurd's fellow Tupelo, Mississippi native P-Nazty for introducing the boys to him and the rest of the Eardruma team. “I went over [to P-Nasty's studio] and checked [Rae Sremmurd] out; they had hella energy and were extra dope the first time we were in the studio together. Since then, I've been mentoring them, being that big-brother figure to them, trying to keep them on the right track. From the first time I met them, I peeped [that] they were natural-born stars.”

The prominent Atlanta producer also stipulated that the Eardruma label is focused on pioneering the sound for the next generation of music. “At the end of the day, we're just trying to change the music out here.” If the fascinatingly unorthodox nature of Rae Sremmurd is any indication of what Eardruma's got in store for the masses, we may be in for some entertaining surprises.—Christina Kelly

Previously: Mike WiLL Made It Wants To Develop A New Sound This Year

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