Review: MIGOS

Posted on
Coming off the strength of Bad and Boujee going number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Migos released their long awaited sophomore album, Culture.

From the first track which features DJ Khaled, you can hear the improvement in their lyrics, flow and ad-libs. Culture sets the tone for the rest of the album, going into T Shirt, Call Casting and Bad and Boujee (feat Lil Uzi Vert).Those 3 songs were sequenced to remind you of the reason why they are on top of the game right now. DJ Khaled could have been missed but he served his purpose in creating hype.  The song will still make you feel as if you’re about to listen to a fresh and current album.

T-Shirt shows a very different side of Migos from what they’ve done in the past. In the same way What the Price and Out Yo Way prove that Migos can flow on slower songs without losing their essence.

T-Shirt is an important track, serving as further promo for the album (the YouTube video averaged a million views per day in the first week it was released). It’s a fun and playful track with an infectious hook from Quavo, who brings the same playfulness on Get Right Witcha and Deadz.

Offset (who is often regarded as the most lyrical of the group by fans) can almost be thanked for the resurgence of the group. The hook on Bad and Boujee cannot be denied, instant party starter ever since it blew up. As good a song this is, I wonder if Quavo and Offset regret not letting fellow member Takeoff have a verse on this or putting a remix with him on the album. Lil Uzi Vert could have been done without. Takeoff’s hooks and melodies also carried a lot of songs (T-Shirt, Call Casting). I believe he is an underrated member of the group and hope he gets more verses in the future to prove himself.

Ad-libs have to be mentioned yet again, Migos’ unique style and autotuned delivery of these is why they standout among their peers right now, “Cookie”, “Mama”, “Bitch”, “Pump Pump”, “Uhn-oh”, “Skr Skr”, “Woo woo woo woo woo”, when used all sound hilarious, well placed and well used. You’ll find yourself wanting to shout them out (mostly with Takeoff) but also having fun trying to remember where these ad-libs are.

Money-oriented and braggadocios songs like Deadz  and Big on Big sound like they were made to be played in arenas, which again is testament to how well thought out this album is. I can hear stadiums shouting “You niggas in trouble”, “If you think with running with that then you in trouble” or “How you go big on big” repeatedly.

The Migos of a few years ago didn’t seem like they were capable of this and I commend them for proving a lot of critics wrong.

There were a few disappointments; Brown Paper Bag and All Ass were instant skips. These songs were simply too generic. They were too safe and seem like they only included them to complete the 13 tracks on this album. Slippery also didn’t seem too inspired despite the appearance of ATL royalty, Gucci Mane feature. It doesn’t help that the beat sounds like a lazy cover of Beyonce’s Feeling Myself.

The much better feature came from 2 Chainz on Deadz, “if I go jog at night, call it a mile run”. Travis Scott’s feature on ‘Kelly Price‘ also really enhanced the overall sound of this song. The production is reminiscent of the ones on Travis’s last album BITTSM and complimented Culture really well. Both of these are standout tracks you will have been on repeat.

All in all, everything about the rollout of their singles to the videos to the performances (shoutout to the Nigerian concert last December) leading up to the album is what will make this project memorable. It will be interesting to see what Migos do next.

Their Spotify singles for ‘Dab of Ranch‘ and ‘T-Shirt‘ (with new lyrics) should have been included as bonus tracks, if you haven’t heard them, go listen now and you’ll see why Migos prove why they still have a lot of tricks (and ad-libs) up their sleeves.

  • Share