Rae Sremmurd “Black Beatles” hit #1

Black Beatles Rae Sremmurd with Gucci Mane

Writer(s): Khalif Brown, Aaquil Brown, Radric Davis, Michael Williams (see lyrics here) Released: September 13, 2016 First Charted: September 3, 2016 Peak: 17 BB, 16 DG, 17 ST, 17 RB, 2 UK, 3 CN, 3 AU, 30 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, 0.6 UK, 10.85 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1038.43 video, 962.37 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Trap music (Atlanta slang for an empty house used for selling drugs) was a rap subgenre that was “an underground phenomenon for years before it conquered the pop charts.” BR It can be traced to Master P in the mid’90s and it was furthered by T.I. in the early 2000s. Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane were also significant in the movement. Mike Will Made-It became a significant trap producer working with Future, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. He also signed Rae Sremmurd (“Drummers Ear” spelled backwards), a hip-hop duo comprised of brothers Aaquil Iben Shamon Brown (“Slim Jxmmi”) and Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (“Swae Lee”), born in Whittier, California. They formed the hip-hop band Dem Outta St8 Boyz in 2010 before becoming Rae Sremmurd in 2013. They released their first album, Sremm Life, in 2015. It reached #5 on the Billboard album chart and went double platinum, spawning the to-40 hits “No Flex Zone,” “No Type,” and “Throw Sum Mo.” The next album, 2016’s Sremm Life 2, was also a top-five, double platinum effort. More significantly, though, was the success of the album’s third single, “Black Beatles.” “The woozy, ethereal party song” BR “is all about being young and rich and famous.” BR “For Rae Sremmurd, the Beatles are just a broad cultural reference, a name that everyone will know.” BR Billboard’s Andrew Unterberger called it “a vital, quintessentially, youthful song.” WK Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield said, “Everybody’s welcome…young bloods, old geezers, weirdo girls with green hair, dealers, haters…A blunted time is guaranteed for all.” WK It “represented a big change in the way people consumed, encountered, and understood pop music.” BR Radio and pure sales were no longer the biggest driving determinants for success. Streaming services like Spotify were now the music industry’s biggest source of revenue and reflected songs that became viral sensations, such as “Black Beatles” did on the back of the Mannequin Challenge, a 2016 trend in which groups of people were filmed frozen in position like mannequins. After the success of “Black Beatles,” the pop charts gave way to even more trap music – most notably major stars such as Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, and Post Malone. Swae Lee himself found success on major songs such as Post Malone’s “Sunflower” and Travis Scott & Drake’s “Sicko Mode.” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Rae Sremmurd BR Tom Breihan (2022). The Number Ones. Hachete Books: New York, NY. Pages 277-92. WK Wikipedia First posted 5/1/2024.