Migos, Culture III | Album Review 💿

While Migos secure a few solid bangers on Culture III, the rap trio still don’t match the excellence of the original Culture.

After a three-year hiatus, 🏆 Grammy nominated rap trio 🎙 Migos are back! 🎙 Offset, 🎙 Quavo, and 🎙 Takeoff truly made a name for themselves with their 2017 album, 💿 Culture.  They’d follow it up with 💿 Culture II, which had its fair share of moments, yet didn’t live up to the excellence of the original.  Now, the collective returns with 💿 Culture III, which runs 19 songs deep and 75 minutes long – woo! Ultimately, while there are some good bangers, Culture III still doesn’t deliver the same glory as Culture.  It’s merely not as distinct or memorable. 

“Avalanche”

“Woo, Papa was a rollin’ stone, but now I got rollin’ stones in the bezel (Ice) / Mama at home all alone, hustlin’, tryna keep this shit together (Mama).” Woo indeed Quavo! Migos get off to a sensational start with ✅ 🎵 “Avalanche.”  Here, those triplet flows are compelling, with memorable rhymes and one-liners.  Arguably, the biggest draw is the production. 🎙 The Temptations’ 🎵 “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” fuels the fire – a sample I wouldn’t have envisioned would be so effective on a trap record.  🎙 Drake dominates much of ✅ 🎵 “Having Our Way,” another worthwhile moment from Culture III.  Does Drizzy really bring indisputable fire? Meh, but it’s hard to deny the aesthetic, or the colorful chorus:

“I’m havin’ my way, ‘Set out here havin’ his way
Qua’ out here havin’ his way, and like the third Migo, I take.”

Even with ample Drake, all three Migos drop verses, creating a V-I-B-E. Solidifying the strong opening trio is ✅ 🎵 “Straightenin”. Pulling out all the bells and whistles are nine writers and six producers!  Hmm, not surprising the backdrop is ‘pretty sweet.’ The boys manage to drop confident, drippy bars. Quavo gets first blood, dropping the ultra-repetitive but catchy chorus, prior to his assertive verse, including the lyrical gem, “Turn a pandemic into a bandemic.” Takeoff arrives on the second verse, notably referencing 🎦 The Matrix, Eminem, and Drake. Finally, Offset drops the final verse referencing an iconic cartoon character (“Tasmanian Devil, we spin on your block”) and guns (“Qua’ keep a MAC in the back of the Tesla”).  The trio doesn’t transform rap, but they sufficiently entertain.

“Type Shit”  

A song named 🎵 “Type Shit” doesn’t lend itself to depth.  That said, it bangs, at least moderately. Joining the trio is 🎙 Cardi B who brings attitude if nothing else.  The beat hits hard, yet, at the same time, it’s nothing ‘brand new.’  Cardi is traded for 🎙 Polo G on the drippy 🎵 “Malibu.” Polo G falls short here, with a particularly clunky, slightly offbeat flow.  As for the rest of the song beyond him, let’s just say that the loop, albeit respectable, wears on over the course of four minutes.

Unsurprisingly, nothing transcendent comes of 🎵 “Birthday,” but arguably, it’s an improvement over the miscalculated “Malibu.” Is it a highlight? Meh, but the hook is a bright spot. ✅🎵 “Modern Day” isn’t too shabby, with plenty of energy being spit on the mic.  Quavo tickles my fancy when he asserts, “I’m still Ratta-toolie (Ooh, woo) / I got a pipe that’s so big it look like Chattahoochee.”  Maybe the best verse overall comes from Offset, who is turned up to the nth degree.

🎛 Jabz and 🎛 Buddah Bless set up Migos for success on ✅🎵 “Vaccine,” whose best feature is a Tchaikovsky sample (The Nutcracker, Act 1: No. 2 “March” flipped from major to minor). “Vaccine” commences with a killer chorus by Quavo: “Pop out (Skrrt-skrrt), what’s up? / We makin’ money in quarantine (quarantine) / Dirty my stick and my whip clean (whip clean) / It’s the blue Benjamin’s, vaccine (Vaccine).” From there, all three members, beginning with Quavo, drop verses, with the chorus following each.  Do any of them say anything particularly deep? No, but they ride that Tchaikovsky loop with the robust bass line like champs!

“Picasso”  

Following “Vaccine,” Migos pair with 🎙 Future for 🎵 “Picasso.”  While it should be one of the more compelling moments/collaborations, “Picasso” is more forgettable and skippable – it’s no artistic masterpiece. 🎵 “Roadrunner” is stronger, though there’s little variance regarding sound. Furthermore, the trio does NOT reinvent the wheel.  🎙 Justin Bieber joins on the smoother, love-oriented, change of pace, 🎵 “What You See.” Does it hit the mark? Meh. Bieber sings well, but certainly offers ‘nothing to write home about.’  As far as the love-driven vibes, well, we don’t typically associate that with this rap act.  “It’s just okay for me, dawg.”

Thankfully, ✅🎵 “Jane” brings some much-needed personality and punch to Culture III.  All we needed was a Takeoff chorus all about a Birkin! Woo! In addition to the chorus, the verses rise to the occasion here. Furthermore, the production (🎛 Carnage, 🎛 Nils, 🎛 CuBeatz, and 🎛Tay Keith) is on-point, perfectly accompanying the trio as they spit fire.  Production also provides a big lift on ✅🎵 “Antisocial” featuring the late 🎙 Juice WRLD. The strings and gentler keyboard work provide a somber, reflective canvas.  Juice sounds incredibly natural over this, playing to his emo, melodic rap strengths (RIP).  While he’s the best thing about this record, Migos do respectably too.  I like hearing them go beyond trap and at least trying to evolve. 

“Why Not”

“Get money, why not / I sell a brick on your block / You think shit sweet, but you know now / I fuck your bitch in your spot.” Woo! If “Antisocial” happened to sound too uncharacteristic of Migos, no worries! They follow up with a surefire banger in ✅ 🎵 “Why Not.” No, this questioning record won’t educate you, but you get an enigmatic, minor-key backdrop, and chill, yet agile rhymes from the trio. One highlight is the end of Takeoff’s verse: “Maybach, why not? These niggas cap, lemme find out / Young niggas ready to wild out / They get too much money, timeout.” Following “Why Not,” we get the balling 🎵 “Mahomes” (referencing Kansas City Chiefs QB 🏈 Patrick Mahomes) where Quavo does indeed educate us, on both spelling and, well, ballin’ hard!

“S-U-C-C-E-S-S, havin' success
B-L-E-S-S, yes, niggas is blessed
Huncho the chief, had to send it to Mahomes
Franchise tag, everybody want a loan (Mahomes).”

On both 🎵 “Handle My Business” and 🎵 “Time for Me,” Migos reflect on the past including what they’ve overcome.  I appreciate the fact that they bring a more personal element.  Are either of these tracks my favorites? No.  Perhaps that’s a product of the excessive length of Culture III, which is more of a ‘pick and choose your favorites’ than listen from start to finish without skipping. ✅🎵 “Light It Up” is a late gem, featuring the late 🎙 Pop Smoke.  One reason the penultimate joint shines isn’t only Smoke’s posthumous appearance, but also that bad ass drill backdrop.  This sound – a contrast to much of Culture III – fuels Migos for sure.  Culture III concludes with 🎵 “Need It” featuring 🎙 YoungBoy Never Broke Again.  If nothing else, there’s a heaping dose of energy.

Final Thoughts 💭 

To reiterate, Culture III still doesn’t match the excellence of the original Culture.  To be fair, there are some solid enjoyable moments – just see the gems list below.  Still, Culture III, an album constructed for the streaming age, would be stronger with edits and more cohesiveness.  Migos aren’t known for their depth, so, it wouldn’t be fair to knock them for that, but, truthfully, they don’t rap about much throughout the course of Culture III? The moments when the trio does try to amplify the depth, it doesn’t quite gel in my eyes.  Culture III has some good but it is an imperfect LP, period. 

✅ Gems 💎: “Avalanche,” “Having Our Way,” “Straightenin,” “Vaccine,” “Jane,” “Antisocial,” “Why Not” & “Light It Up”

🎙 Migos • 💿 Culture III • 🏷 Quality Control Music • 🗓 6.14.21

[📷: Quality Control Music]