Migos Get Lavish In New Album "Culture"

Migos have been on an upward spiral for awhile now, and all the hype's finally culminating. The rap trio of Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff is here with their sophomore album Culture, and it sees the trio at their best.

There are plenty of big tracks on this record, and the singles are only part of it. You've been living under a rock if you haven't heard 'Bad and Boujee' yet. If you haven't heard the song, you've at least seen the "drop top" memes that it spawned. The song's chilled back beat, the continuously delivering verses, and a feature from Lil Uzi Vert helped make this song a big success. Promo single 'T-Shirt' also generated a lot of interest, with its haunting, deep instrumental and flow making it a hip-hop anthem.

Outside the singles, there's a lot this record offers. 'Call Casting' features a great instrumental and some golden lyrics. Takeoff delivers in the first verse, his "She eat the molly like a snack (eat it up) / This gold on my neck a plaque / Bando Shane's Rib Shack (eat it up) / Rob the plug if he tax / Sip the lean and relax (drink it up)" reading as silly but coming off pretty slyly in the context of the song. As someone who normally hates ad-libs, the "eat it up" parts are pretty great. The guitar intro of 'What The Price' is pretty sweet as well, and while it doesn't carry on throughout the track, it leads into a darker, moody instrumental that helps the song flow well. The biggest sound of the record comes in 'Deadz,' featuring 2 Chainz and huge, brooding orchestras that lead to a bassy, thick beat. The deliveries are quick and come out like bullets, making the song's already badass vibe become even more epic.

There are some negatives to it Culture, though - Migos get pretty pretentious and self-absorbed in many tracks. As a group, they absolutely adore talking about how rich they are. That's more or less the nature of hip-hop nowadays, but listening to an album where half of the songs refer to how rich these guys are does become pretty tiring. Around 'Brown Paper Bag' is when things start becoming tiring. There are plenty more things to write about than how you're living the life, because trust me, we all get it. Look what happened to DJ Khaled with his own pretentiousness - it's gotten so bad he ruined the title track.

Migos are living lavish lives with their success, and its apparent in Culture. The group's sophomore album tells their tales of fame and fortune, but fails to change up the game and has an overall pretentious vibe to it. There are plenty of banging tracks on it to make up for it, but there really needed to be something more than "look at me I'm rich" and repetitive instrumentals. The big moments carry the record - if only all of it could be huge.

Favorite Tracks: Deadz, T-Shirt, Cast Calling

Least Favorite Track: Culture, Brown Paper Bag

Rating: 73 / 100

Buy or listen to Culture here: