Culture III is finally here - An album which has more to offer than what we're used to from the Migos
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| On the cover art Migos are looking directly at you with their big chains and white doves in the background, already showing off their wealth and status |
Culture III is the final release of Migos' trilogy album series Culture. It released on June 11, 2021. Since Culture II broke the internet in 2018 it has been long-awaited for the final part of the trilogy. Each rapper has released solo-album in the time between the releases:
- Quavo - QUAVO HUNCHO (October 12, 2018)
- Takeoff - The Last Rocket (November 2, 2018)
- Offset - FATHER OF 4 (February 22, 2019)
The album has features from both Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD. Both rappers died in a way to young age with huge careers in front of them. It's always great to honor the talent we lost too soon.
On the album Migos switch their usual rapping themes and flow up, bringing more soft-trap flows and more vulnerable topics to the surface. I'm really glad to see the Migos doing this since it brings new light on them as rappers.
The album is what we could have expected from the Migos with more. Multiple radio-playable songs, which are definitely gonna turn into hits with Migos being the good old Migos we all know and enjoy. But at the same trying stepping out of their comfort zones and conveying more personal topics into the lyricism.
Rating:
Vibe - 6,5/10
Migos delivers way more songs to vibe to. Bringing Justin Bieber in to the picture on "What You See", and creating a soft and personal vibe to relate to. The Migos have grown and you can see that for sure.
Lyrics - 6/10
Especially Offset ups his game as a lyricist bringing more word-plays and hidden-messages throughout his lyrics. Quavo and Takeoff keeps delivering good lyricism. Non of them however induces to really step out of their box and deliver something non-expected.
Flow - 8/10
Migos are really capable of switching up their flows and bringing new branches of the trap-genre to light. On one track they deliver pure softness, while on other track they deliver gangster-heavy trap music.
Music - 7/10
The music is too uniform and same-sounding on some of the songs, but they do however manage to implement different types of beats throughout the album.
Overall - 7,4/10
The Migos bring their great old sound, along with a newer, inventive sound. A good comeback for the Migos with multiple playable tracks, which definitely are gonna go viral. The album overall is very good-sounding, but parts of the lyricism and technical parts of rapping are still missing.
Migos conveys new motives and parts of their lives into music. It's exciting to see the Migos going deeper with the lyricism they present, and hopefully they are gonna go more into depth later on in their careers.
Tracklist:
Avalanche: 6,5/10
Read my first thoughts for Avalanche!
Avalanche is your typical Migos' track with Migos showing off their successes. But it brings the twist of Migos reminiscing on their upbringings and showing their more vulnerable sides.
"Papa was a rollin' stone, but now I got rollin' stones in the bezel
Mama at home all alone, hustlin' tryna keep this shit together"
This is a lot coming from a rapper like Quavo, who typically don't really show these sides of him. It always makes music seem more personal when rappers open more up.
Rapping wise the song presents what brought the Migos to life, which is the classic arrogant, trap rap. And that's fantastic, but also predictable since Culture III is part of a series of trap albums from a trap artist.
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| Migos have priorly teamed up with Toronto rapper Drake on their mega hit "Walk It Talk It" |
Having Our Way (feat. Drake): 6,5/10
Drake handles the chorus, while all four has chance to cement their place in the game and display their wealth on each of their verses.
Read the story of Drake's life and career!
The track is more of a slowed-down trap track, than your typical Migos' trap. Besides from that there's really not much to it. Banger for sure.
Straightenin: 7/10
Read my first thoughts for Straightenin!
"Straightenin" is a track on where Migos speak about the gang life. It's a good-sounding, soft-beat, hard-ass trap track
Quavo's flow on his verse goes hard as fuck and he kills his verse in general.
Type Shit (feat. Cardi B): 5/10
On "Type Shit" Migos and Cardi B talks about the gang-life they came from and how it still influences them in their now-existing famous, partying life.
They make sure to display, that they still have ties to the gang-life and that they are in fact ready if "smoke" occur.
The chorus is boring with it being just "Type Shit" being repeated with not much more to it.
Malibu (feat. Polo G): 5/10
This is definitely one of the features I've been excited to see on Culture III. Earlier today Polo released his third album Hall Of Fame. Be sure to check the review out for that one.
Read the review for Hall Of Fame here!
This is a gangster-trap track with both Polo and Migos going bad-ass on their verses. Polo doesn't really live up to the expectations I had for his feature, since I hoped for him to bring more softness to the track, showing a different side of Migos.
Birthday: 6/10
Migos speak about their wealth and status, along with how they pick up and select women.
On the chorus Quavo says he knows it ain't really her birthday, but he doesn't care if it is or not, as long as she's bad, displaying his both gigantic wealth and how he chooses who to get with and discards the ones, who aren't good enough for him.
Modern Day: 3,5/10
On "Modern Day" Migos team up with producer Murda Beatz. A highly anticipated track, since it was first teased by Quavo on his Instagram on October 4, 2020.
The chorus is boring and to uniform in general.
Vaccine: 6/10
The track "Vaccine" used a vaccine as a symbol for being blessed with wealth. On the chorus Quavo raps:
"It's the blue Benjamin's, vaccine"
Blue Benjamin's are 100 dollars bills and a vaccine is an injection into your body. Quavo and Migos have been given the "100 dollar bill vaccine" meaning that they have gotten so much money and wealth. Quavo wrote the phrase on Instagram on 6 March, 2021, 3 months prior to release. This indicates that he has had the bars on his mind for some time now.
"We makin' money in quarantine"
Quavo also says, that they have been making money during quarantine. The quarantine parallels to the corona-virus, hence the symbol of a vaccine-injection for displaying wealth.
Picasso (feat. Future): 5/10
Surprisingly this is Migos first-ever direct collaboration with Future. Both Quavo and Offset have worked with him individually, but they had never before worked with him as a trio.
Future is on the chorus delivering a autotune-heavy, trap chorus. The track is what you would expect from Future and Migos with them reusing the same themes that they always do.
Roadrunner: 7/10
A party track with Migos speaking about all the great things they have in life. Drugs, women and partying are the topics they go through on this intense trap track. Migos switches the so far gang-life theme of most of the tracks on the album to a still trap-hard but more living-the-life theme.
Offset doesn't care of the girl is a nun. Nuns have taken solemn vows and live a life of prayer. A nun is a virgin and a general symbol of "purity". This indicates that she's hard to get.
"Don't give a fuck if a bitch is a nun (Nun)
She sucking me numb, til' I go to sleep
Offset doesn't care tho, displaying his position in the game. He will get her any way. These a hard, arrogant, trap bars. Great to see.
What You See (feat. Justin Bieber): 8/10
"What You See" marks Migos first-ever collaboration with Justin Bieber.
Migos totally switches the genre brining pop-singer Justin Bieber into the picture. The track brings a soft, passionate and romantic feeling, and Migos raps about the more vulnerable side of their life with women.
Especially Offset kills his verse and displays his vulnerability in great manor. A must-needed track for the album, where Migos gets to go deeper than their regular lyrics.
The song is co-written by Danny Wolf. Danny Wolf lately collaborated with Lil Baby on "Slidin"
Read my first thoughts on Slidin!
Jane: 2/10
Why Not: 7/10
On "Why Not" Migos flex on all the haters along with speaking about the gang-life. Especially Offset deliver a great verse, among other spitting the bars:
"I'm high and they pray on my downfall"
Offset being "high" indicates that he's both literally and figuratively high.
Figuratively in the sense that he's high-class in society and in life general. He lives a good and wealthy live, and with wealth and fame comes fake friends, who wants to see him fail.
Literally in the way same sense. He's high so he's having a good time, and fake people doesn't wanna see him enjoy himself and have a good time, but wanna bring him down.
It's great to see Migos using smarter lyricism than what they are used to. A banger track.
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| On "Mahomes" Migos use NFL player Patrick Mahomes as a symbol for their wealth and status |
Mahomes: 5/10
Migos draw parallels to American Football player Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes signed a 10-year contract in 2020, making him the highest paid QB in the league at $45 million dollars pr. year.
Mahomes plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Migos are also chiefs, and Mahomes is a symbol to indicate both that and their wealth.
The metaphor is inventive, but it's a boring trap track, and it brings to much similarity to some of there other songs.
Handle My Business: 6,5/10
On "Handle My Business" Migos speak about how they have grown reflected in their past. They grew up as thugs and they still are, meaning they don't know right from wrong.
On each rapper get to reflect on the past he has had and how it has influenced him in his life. The song is a slow-trap track.
Time For Me: 7,5/10
On "Time For Me" the Migos reminisce on their pasts and the issues they have brought them. They also speak about how they were always loyal.
Another slow-trap track, which is fantastic for the Migos to be delivering, since 19 straight up trap tracks would have been boring. It's always great to see the Migos showing more vulnerability and getting more personal in their lyricism.
Light It Up (feat. Pop Smoke): 6,5/10
"Light It Up" was first teased on Offset's Instagram on March 1, 2020. This is the first-ever collaboration between the late Pop Smoke and the Migos.
The track is a needed hard-ass trap track with Pop Smoke murdering his beat bringing a hardcore vibe to the track.
Need It (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again): 6/10
Migos team up with YoungBoy Never Broke Again to craft a trap track presenting their violent lifestyles, speaking about how they still are strapped and ready to go if there are problems.
The song's instrumental is a higher-pitched sample of 50 Cent's "Get In My Car". 50 Cent is also credited as a co-writer of the song.
Good review, deserves more recognition.
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