Written Before Listen
Migos are one of the most legendary trios when it comes to modern hip hop. They are known for their undeniable chemistry, signature adlibs and triplet flows. Due to the fact that they recently released Culture III, I thought I would go back and visit the previous two due to the fact that I have yet to listen to them cohesively. Starting with the first one of course, I know some songs off of it already but never listened to it fully. Well….here we go.
Production
There are some iconic beats on here. To name a few, we have “T-Shirt”, “Bad And Boujee” and “Slippery”. DY comes in for the opener but that beat is only decent. Buddha Bless comes in for “Call Casting” as he comes with his very old school flash, Murda Beatz comes in on “Get Right Witcha” as he goes outside his comfort zone, Cardo comes with a unique beat on “Dead” and Zaytoven brings his usual style. The production is easily one of the best elements on here. Nearly ever beat comes with a unique element whether if its the synth bass on “T-Shirt”, the organ on “Call Casting” or the theremin style lead on “Slippery”, the beats are delivered.
Chemistry
One thing that stands out in the Migos catalog is the connection Quavo, Takeoff and Offset have. Each member have their unique adlibs, flows and style. Quavo is capable of his melodic hooks and simplistic flow, Offset is known for his rapid cadence and bouncy rhythm and Takeoff is known for his versatile flow and smoky voice. Of course, I cant talk about the members without talking about the infamous “Bad And Boujee”. Takeoff was infamously unavailable for the “Bad And Boujee” session as he was locked up which created a short-lived meme. Luckily Offset KILLS it and Quavo follows up well. Migos are on tip top shape here without a doubt.
Features
Out of the 13 tracks, 5 of them have features. One of the features I wouldn’t even count as its just DJ Khaled yelling over the opener. The first real feature comes with Lil Uzi Vert as he is probably the only bad part of “Bad And Boujee”. Gucci Mane is on deck with “Slippery” and he is probably the best feature on here. 2 Chainz brings one hell of an underwhelming performance and Travis Scott suffers with a similar situation to Uzi on “Kelly Price”. The features are easily the weakest aspect of the album and despite the album improving with features, they don’t add anything new to the table.
The Trap Music Appeal
As trap artists go, their topics are criminally repetitive. The party time lyrics about drugs, crime, sex and violence gets stale overtime. Other than one or two tracks, every track suffers with this. Its pretty annoying at least to me. I know the appeal of this album is to have a good time but I feel like the lack of ignorance or dynamic gives this album a redundant feel. For example, I think when it comes to this type of music, I think Travis Scott has way more dynamic. Young Thug definitely has more exuberance and versatility than Migos. Playboi Carti has so much ignorance and playfulness to his music that I’d way rather listen to him. Even when it comes to rapping about these topics, Future and 2 Chainz are more exciting to me.
Inconsistency
As I said, this album lacks versatility and variety but the tracks that hit, deliver in a big way. “Bad And Boujee” slaps, “T-Shirt” slaps, “Kelly Price” slaps and “Slippery” slaps. I’ll honestly just say this. Despite being the best in the trilogy, It’s far away from being one of the best of the genre.
Verdict
Well, this is a decent album but its far from standing out from trap albums of the time. Compared to the other “classics” of trap music, this is one of the more generic releases despite being better than the next two.
5/10
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