Migos – Culture 2

Migos – Culture II

David Goins

Migos is an American rap trio that has been absolutely smashing the charts for a couple of years now. The group consists of three members: Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff, who all share the same dynamically stunning southern trap flow. The industry credits them for taking this flow to the mainstream, as you can hear their influence on many new and upcoming hip-hop artists. If you have not heard their most popular song, “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, then you probably are not familiar with the trio at all. The song was nominated for several Grammys this year, and it will be remembered for years to come. Their latest record, Culture II, is a follow-up from their previous album (titled Culture) which, in my opinion, was a great record.

Culture II threw Migos into the spotlight again, garnering huge anticipation for weeks prior to its release. The first song that caught my ear was “Superstars,” which was one of the album’s singles. The instrumental on this track reminded me of their last album because of the fast-paced piano and flute, which is a sound the group is comfortable with. The song has a catchy hook, great verses from all three members, and a banging 808 trap-bass that fills out the track.

One of the biggest highlights on this record is the song “Narcos”. This track has by far the best instrumental Migos flows on throughout the whole album. The beat brings Spanish-influenced guitar and some light Caribbean drum patterns to contrast the heavy trap high-hats and bass, and it really gives the song character. The hook in “Narcos” is outstanding, mostly because of the melody carried by Offset and Quavo as they trade bars. A line that sticks out to me in the hook is when Quavo says “this is real rap— no mumble,” because Migos has been stereotyped as “mumble rap” in the past. I love this line.

There are other tracks on this album that I also enjoyed, such as “White Sand” featuring Travis Scott. Travis’ hook on this thing is outstanding. I also I enjoyed “Stir Fry,” which is a single from the album that sounds outside Migos’ comfort zone (because the beat sounds like a N.E.R.D. instrumental, not a trap instrumental). The song “Notice Me” featuring Post Malone was also a highlight for me because of its ballad-themed influence.

The thing that really hurts this album for me is how long the track list is. For me, when I’m listening to a Migos album, there are only so many songs I can listen to in a row before they start to sound the same. I think that 24 tracks is way too many, especially when compared to their last album (which only had 13). In my opinion, this album could’ve been a lot better if they condensed their content and picked only 13 or 14 tracks. There are a lot of songs on this album that seem to be filler tracks. Today, streaming artists make a lot of money, and I think that Migos put 24 tracks on their album to gain more streams. I could easily go through this album, pick thee best 13 or 14 tracks, and condense it into one great record. Unfortunately, I think Migos gave us too much content.

Rating: 6 / 10                              

Favorite Songs: Narcos, Stir Fry, Notice Me, White Sand