5 songs you need to hear off rap upstarts Rae Sremmurd’s new album

Swae and Slim are back again.

On Friday, Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd drops its long-delayed second album, SremmLife 2 (**½ out of four stars). With a star-studded guest roster of Juicy J, Gucci Mane and Lil Jon, brothers Swae Lee, 21, and Slim Jxmmi, 22, continue to flaunt the bawdy, party-rap personas that endeared them to fans on breakout singles No Flex Zone and No Type.

But their latest also comes with an extra boost of music cred: Earlier this year, it was revealed that Swae co-wrote Beyoncé’s career-defining Lemonade single Formation, which was produced by Mike Will Made It (who serves as SremmLife 2’s executive producer). If you want to hear more of why Bey co-signed these rising rap titans, look no further than these essential tracks from album No. 2:

Look Alive

Mike Will lays one of the year’s most intoxicating beats under this eerie come-hither, which was given an equally vibey remix featuring Atlanta rap trio Migos.

Black Beatles  (feat. Gucci Mane)

Bottle service meets The Beatles on this slick, mellowed-out banger, which cleverly integrates John Lennon and Paul McCartney into a hazy club scene filled with raining cash and plunging necklines.

Shake It Fast  (feat. Juicy J)

An unofficial sequel to their strip-club anthem Throw Sum Mo with Nicki Minaj, Shake It Fast manages to be just as catchy while also upping the raunch factor. Juicy J, coming off a solid guest turn on A$AP Mob’s Yamborghini High earlier this year, delivers an even more memorable verse here. (Seriously, you’ll never think of pancake mix the same way again.) But it’s Slim who has the most fun with his rhymes, playfully rapping that “every time she contort it, I support it” and even throwing in a meme-able “new phone, who dis?” reference.

Now That I Know

After an album's worth of cheeky, sometimes-degrading lyrics about the women in their lives, it’s a nice momentary change of pace to hear the guys wear their hearts on their sleeves. Slim spits fiery verses about trying but failing to move on from the one that got away, before Swae chimes in to ice the wound with his woozy hook. “Of course, I wanna lie and say I don’t miss you,” he croons, eventually pouring one out for love lost with a defeated, “So much for a dream come true.”

Just Like Us

The guys don’t skimp on the Auto-Tune for this uncharacteristically chirpy album closer, which has Top 40 potential written all over its wobbly kick-drum beat and hopeful lyrics.