Hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd released their debut album, SremmLife, a couple of days ago. Industry insiders are projecting the album may sell between 45,000-50,000 copies in its first week. The Billboard 200 chart for this week’s sales won’t be revealed until January 14. If Rae Sremmurd manages to sell 45,000 or more copies, it could be the Billboard 200’s highest debut of 2015. SremmLife will also be the only arrival in the top 10. Currently, 2015 is off to a slow start in regards to new album releases.
SremmLife is supported by the hit singles “No Flex Zone,” “No Type,” and “Throw Sum Mo” featuring Nicki Minaj and Young Thug. “No Flex Zone” peaked at Number 8 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs, “No Type” sold over 500,000 copies, and “Throw Sum Mo” debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop songs chart at Number 37. SremmLife has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. One publication described the album as an “overall triumph with too many hits and slappers to regard Rae Sremmurd as a one-hit wonder of 2014.”
The duo was the first act signed to Ear Drummers Records, which is distributed by Interscope Records. The name, Rae Sremmurd, is “ear drummers” spelled backwards. The record label is owned by super producer Mike Will Made It. In a recent interview, Mike Will spoke about the duo, “Their energy is so good and their character is so tight that they can crossover into popular culture easily. I look at them like a hood ‘N Sync. It’s like pop, but it’s pop in its ratchet-est form.” Pop music, with a blend of hip-hop, has had a big impact in today’s music industry.
A few years ago, Mike Will had a plan to blend urban and pop music. He knew he could create the tracks, but he also needed mainstream pop artists to take the music to the masses. “At Ear Drummers, we worked on that. The Miley Cyrus sh*t, it still had a hip hop twist to it. That allowed Katy Perry to come with ‘Dark Horse.’ We’ve got Madonna throwing in grills. ‘Pour It Up’ was Rihanna‘s first time doing a strip-club record or a turn-up record.” Rae Sremmurd is continuing this pop urban movement, and fans seem to be gravitating to their sound.