Five weeks ago, Police officers fatally shot Alton Sterling and Philando Castile within a 24-hour span, sparking outrage and protests across the United States. HNHH spoke to Rae Sremmurd two weeks after the shootings in preparation for the new HNHH digital cover story and heard Swae Lee’s reaction to the shootings.
"That’s so fucked up that a person would do that to another person,’” Swae recalls of his reaction to the tragedy. “It just hurts to see that. If the reason that he did it was because of his skin color, I think that’s crazy. Race is a topic that divides us – one of the biggest divides besides religion. If we could just get over that hump, the world would run so much smoother, if we could get over the problem with color, get to know people.”
Growing up in Tupelo, MS, the brothers Sremmurd moved out of their mother's home and into an abandoned warehouse, where they hosted raucous parties and perform as Dem Outta St8 Boyz.
“When I was having parties, all the races showed up. We had mixed crowds,” recalled Swae. “In my city, what I was seeing more of is the change. White people and black people just getting along. The younger people in my city always got along – I fucked with all the white boys, the white boys fucked with me.”
As Rae Sremmurd, Swae and Jxmmi are significantly more popular than they were during their Dem Outta St8 Boyz days, but that doesn’t mean they shy away from interaction with their fans.
“Going through the airport, you meet so many different people, and you’re like ‘damn, this motherfucker cool as hell,’ says Swae. “They might be Asian, they might be Latino. I never live hating someone for their skin color. I’ve had experiences where people hated me for my skin color, and I’m like ‘you don’t even know me. If you knew me you’d probably want to be my best fucking friend.’ It’s crazy to me.”