#bigsean

Yesterday (1/26/18) rap trio, The Migos, dropped their 3rd studio Album, Culture II. The project had some impressive moments, but was somewhat underwhelming & felt more like a long playlist than an album. It’s biggest pitfall is its lack of compelling subject matter. When you continue to make songs about the same 3-4 subjects, they tend to get stale & overly repetitive. Conversely, a few nice elements like switching up the flows/cadences, production, features, and jazz instrumentation all managed to spice the album up in a great way at certain points. Despite this, the overall consensus seems to be that ultimately, more was expected of the super-group.

That being said, here’s a list of words and phrases we need a break from when it comes to The Migos :

• Anything involving Patek Phillippes, water, or a wrist.
  
• Any variation of the hoes and/or thots they’re fucking on or that they took from other men.
  
• Yes we know y'all are whipping water, but we’ve also heard more than enough about the bricks, birds, and pies. Thanks.
  
• Coupe, roof, mama, and basic bitch are some key terms that could use a break as well. Not to say these terms should be eliminated, but it wouldn’t hurt to add some other subjects in the mix.
  

Due to the extensive number of songs on Culture II , this won’t be a finely detailed track by track review, but rather a brief summary of highlights & lowlights, and a rating to go along with each mention (not all songs are mentioned). *Breathes in deeply* Let’s begin….

“Higher We Go” - A pretty solid effort to start the album. Though the hook sounds like a chant you would be forced to recite inside of an illuminati cult meeting, this song was very fitting for the album intro. 3/5

“Supastars”&“Narcos”-Typical migos songs (see aforementioned key terms for a summary of the subject matter) 2/5

“BBO” ft 21 Savage-21 was the highlight of this song, it’s saving grace. His effortless flow adds a certain je ne sais quoi to any song he’s on. 2.5/5

“Auto Pilot”- Quavo’s production was enjoyable, but the flow was TIRED. Everything doesn’t need a chant. 1/5

“Walk It Talk It” ft. Drake-The hook was admittedly simple, but  this song will undoubtedly be stuck in your head. Beyond that, Drake laced the track with his slick, bragadocious talk that everyone loves. This was more of the tone that was expected for the album. 4/5

“Emoji a Chain” & “CC”ft. Gucci Mane- More predictable  Migos stuff. Good enough that it can be easily thrown in the mix at a kickback, but not the level of greatness they are capable of. 2/5

“Too Much Jewelry”- Love Quavo’s flow on this. Great break from the chanting on the beginning of the album. Zaytoven those keys…mannn, he does it every time! 3.5/5

“Gang Gang”- Very refreshing. A jubilant ode to “the gang”. 3/5

“White Sand”ft. Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, & Big Sean- Solid track. Although quite a few elements sound like a song we’ve already heard many times before, Big Sean saves the day on this one! His verse revitalizes this track. Definitely a song you play while out on vacay at the beach. 3.5/5

“Notice Me” ft. Post Malone- Sonically , an all around great track. Only drawback is the repetitive subject matter. 4/5

“Too Playa”ft. 2 Chainz -*Insert 5 fire emojis!!!* Best track on the album! Quavo’s production, the saxophone riffs. Goodness. As far as verses, everyone came to play on this one. The wordplay was on par, and 2 Chainz brought his A game and took the song to an even saucier level! Sonically, this definitely should have been the main direction of the album. 5/5

“Top Down on da NAWF”- Another one of the better songs on the project, and way more fitting of being on an album titled Culture II. The Migos talk a bit about their upbringing and how comfortable they feel when they’re back home. One of the few tracks that were able to convey a certain feeling or vibe outside of the usual. 4/5

“Cultural National Anthem”-“You was searching for the wave, it was Culture what we found”. A lovely track to wrap up the album with and [semi] bring it all together. The Migos summarize what the culture is, their copious contributions to it, and how to do right by it on this final track. This is the type subject matter that reflects an album called “Cultute II”. Had the album consisted of this in equal doses as the traditional trap tunes, there would be nothing bad to say about it. Overall a great musical effort. Hopefully the next one will have a more dynamic feel. 5/5 track.

Total Album Rating: 3 out of 5 fire emojis. 3/5. What do you think of Culture II?