SAME DIFFERENCE

SAME DIFFERENCE

Technically speaking, Swae Lee’s first solo album arrived in 2018 when the brothers Sremmurd released their triple-length SR3MM—the duo’s third LP, plus the solo debuts from Lee and Slim Jxmmi. But on SAME DIFFERENCE, the more famous half of the pair stands alone, applying his knack for hooks and occasional falsetto to 16 tracks of expensive-sounding vacation rap meant to be played on superyachts somewhere near the Virgin Islands. The mood is tropical and lavish on “MURAL” with Jhené Aiko and “SUITCASE,” where he reunites with French Montana almost a decade after “Unforgettable.” “VIOLET” feels like a spiritual sequel to 2018’s Post Malone duet “Sunflower,” while “E OFF EMOTION” interpolates Roscoe Dash’s “All the Way Turnt Up” for a late-hours strip-club anthem rife with one-liners (“I be with my dogs like a service animal”). And on “WORKING REMOTE,” he taps in Slim Jxmmi for an ’80s synthwave ballad that could work as the theme song for a Miami Vice reboot.