Brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd shook Bender Arena on Oct. 22 with insane energy and “club bangers.” Ground-rocking bass and the brothers’ signature dance moves kept the crowd moving through the performance.
AU students lined up outside of Bender Arena hours before doors opened to secure a front row spot for Rae Sreummurd. The line came as no surprise, however, considering the group is known for doing everything they can to make fans go crazy and have a good time.
“It's crazy seeing how each campus reacts to your music,” Lee said.
The show included two openers before the main act came out: New York-based electronic music duo KANEHOLLER and R&B artist Abhi//Dijon. AU students in the crowd who came to see Rae Sremmurd expressed disappointment with these openers. The performers received “boos” and almost no applause while audience members chanted “Rae Sremmurd” throughout their songs. The already modest crowd thinned by the time the main act came out about two hours after doors opened. After the show, Lee said he’d have to stop at AU at least three times a year to help us truly understand “SremmLife.”
Lee and Jimmi brought a striking amount of energy to their performance from the very beginning. The duo ran on stage spraying water guns at the crowd and singing its first single, “We,” a party anthem with lyrics that match the group’s wild and crazy image. The brothers further enhanced their show by interacting with the audience. Older brother Jimmi reached over security guards to high five fans and took audience member’s iPhones to post snapchats of himself on stage throughout the show. Members of Rae Sremmurd’s crew threw customized beach balls and rolls of toilet paper into the crowd while simultaneously soaking them with water bottles and water guns.
The duo knew which of their biggest hits would get the crowd most excited: Swae Lee started off “Come Get Her” with an a capella rendition of the chorus that got the crowd warmed up. From there the brothers moved on to “Throw Some Mo” and prompted AU students to shout out the words to the chorus, usually sung by Nicki Minaj (who did not make an appearance). The duo’s most recent hit, “This Could Be Us,” the closest thing to a love song you can find on the group’s discography, had everybody’s hands in the air.
The little-brother, big-brother dynamic emerged when the two musicians built off one another’s dance moves on stage. A shirtless Slim Jimmi stayed front and center to show off his swaying moves while Swae Lee jumped up and down behind him. Swae Lee describes shows on college campuses as “a big party” where students can come get crazy. Even during his short water break between songs, lee jumped up and down backstage, ready to get back up. The only thing Lee said he dislikes about college campuses is all the rules.
“We don’t like those rules . . . it's like there’s limitations on the crowd,” Lee, said.
“SremmLife 2,” Rae Sremmurd’s second album comes out in December, and fans can expect “bangers” along with a few big features from other artists.
