CULTURE BY MIGOS: GENESIS OF A TRILOGY?

CULTURE BY MIGOS: GENESIS OF A TRILOGY?

Culture was released on January 27, 2017. With the release of 2016 single Bad and Boujee, featuring Lil Uzi Vert, many have been hyped for the release of this album. Initially, to be released under the name No Label 3, in 2016, The Migos ran into issues with their label. They then changed the name of their album to Culture.

I really enjoy the cover art for this project in particular. Created by Stole “Moab” Stojmenov, I think it is really fitting for the trio. It seems like many chaotic things occurring simultaneously in a collage style of art, but many of these things represent the culture of The Migos and the south. Going into this review, I think I have heard most, if not all of everything this project had to offer. After 4 years, this project has aged well enough to give a clear and thorough review in retrospect. This is the review of Culture by The Migos.

WHAT I LISTEN FOR IN PROJECTS

When listening to music, I listen for the vibe, lyrics, and production of the song, and as a listener, I expect artists to get out of their comfort zones and experiment. I will be discussing lyrics, production, features, sales, and I will give this project a rating, but, as with all art reviews, my review of Culture is based on personal opinion.

CULTURE LYRICS

Many of the lyrics are very rhythmically catchy. The Migos are significantly known for a specific type of flow, that seems important in rap today. I think their flow shows exceptionally on songs like Bad and Boujee or Deadz, but then they gave us songs like T-Shirt, which has an unorthodox flow for the trio. I also applaud songs like T-shirts for being so simplistic. Somehow it works very well. Unlike my review of Lil Durk’s The voice, this tracklist is only 13 TRACKS LONG! Many of their lyrics describe their affiliation with selling drugs, luxury clothing, cars, and jewelry. This is very interesting to me because it seems like the main topics of rap in the present day are women, drugs, and animosity. (Hopefully, rap will start to create new topics, or find new ways to talk about the same topics.)

My Favorite Lyrics include:

*Presented by Genius.com*

1995 (90’s) 2005 (2000’s)
Seen it with my eyes (seen it), dope still alive (dope)
Real mob ties (mob), real frog eyes (frog)- Quavo on T-Shirt (Simplistic bars)

Raindrop, drop top (drop top)
Smokin’ on cookie in the hotbox (cookie)
Fuckin’ on your bitch she a thot, thot (thot)
Cookin’ up dope in the crockpot (pot)
We came from nothin’ to somethin’ ni*** (hey)
I don’t trust nobody grip the trigger (nobody)
Call up the gang, and they come and get you (gang)
Cry me a river, give you a tissue (hey)- Offset on Bad and Boujee

Uh oh, fresh out the bed
Uh oh, count up the deads *8x*- Quavo on Deadz (Again, simplicity at its finest)

MY FAVORITE SONGS

• Deadz (Takeoff killed this)
• Bad and Boujee
• T- Shirt
• Get Right Witcha
• Everything except my least favorite songs

LEAST FAVORITE SONGS

• All Ass
• Out Yo Way (To be fair, this is the outro)

CULTURE PRODUCTION

Some of the production includes Cardo, Murda Beatz, and Metro Boomin. I think the production is perfect for the time. The production included powerful trumpets, sparkly pianos, and heavy 808’s. This was around the time I started to pay attention to production, especially to the likes of Murda Beatz. Murda, along with Metro Boomin had really great careers when looking at where they are today. Murda went on to produce Nice for What by Drake, and FEFE by 6ix9ine. Metro Boomin produced Mask Off by Future, Bank Account, and Savage Mode II with 21 Savage. The likes of Cardo went to produce Drake’s God’s Plan, AND Laugh Now Cry Later.

10/10

CULTURE FEATURES

The features include 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, DJ Khaled, and Gucci Mane. All of the features really did exceptionally well. I really like 2 Chainz as an overall artist. I think he has the best mix between lyrics and flow. This can be shown in Deadz. Lil Uzi Vert was a newcomer to the rap scene. Appearing on the 2016 XXL Freshman List, many people may not have known what he could bring to the table. With Bad and Boujee, he was able to show that he was in the rap industry to stay. Look how his career blossomed! DJ Khaled introduces the album on the right foot with a percussion and 808 heavy instrumental. With the track Kelly Price, Travis Scott brings a mellow vibed, autotuned verse on heavy 808 trap instrumental. Gucci Mane has had a very long-spanning career in music. I think he really meshed very well on Slippery, which features a very mellow synthesizer-oriented instrumental.

10/10

SALES, RATINGS AND OVERALL REVIEW

According to Billboard, this album sold 131,000 units and reached number one on Billboard 200. At the time, this was very significant for their career. Not only did it benefit the trio, but it also helped with the growth of everyone on this album. Everyone that appeared on this album are superstars in the rap industry. The Migos had every reason to create a sequel to something as iconic to rap as this album.

Overall, I think this album was perfect for the time being. This album is a timeless classic. 2016 and 2017 were some of the best years for rap music. Those couple years were very interesting because there were many hits released. I think this album, along with many others from this era really paved the way for the artists of today. With the release of the 2016 XXL Freshman List, a new style of rap appeared to be at the forefront. This was known as “The Soundcloud Era”. I think this album really helped me become more interested in The Migos. Before this album, I knew about the Migos, but the trio wasn’t as prominent as they were prior to the release of this album. I like how simplistic the album is when it needs to be. This can be heard in Slippery and T-Shirt. If this album didn’t get album of the year, it was well deserving of a notable mention.

Will they continue this momentum into Culture 2 and 3? Tune in to see my take on them!

9/10

Haven’t heard this album? Click Here to Listen!!!

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