May 26, 2020Why Culture III Will Once Again Reshape the Culture
In 2017, Donald Glover shouted out a thank you to Migos for making, “Bad and Boujee.” Shortly after, their major label debut “Culture” did 144,000 first week and to date, they’ve sold over 2 million records worldwide. At that point, Migos was literally everywhere.
Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff quickly became a household name as rap’s fastest rising trio arguably in history. From features with frequent collaborators Young Thug and Travis Scott to pop missteps with Katy Perry, Migos capitalized on flooding the airwaves with their signature triple-time flow that brought the culture to its knees. The impressionable influence Migos has cemented can be seen in literally every major and upcoming rapper’s release. With their flow becoming a staple in hip-hop, their sound became a pillar for the next few generations of rappers which leads into the trio’s 2017 sequel, Culture II.
Capitilizing on the streaming era, in 2018 Migos manage to drop a 24 track album that runs across a rough hour and 45 minutes. Culture II saw strong streaming numbers and sales, making the sequel a commercial success. Critically however, critics stated the album was too bloated with a run time that could’ve probably been cut down.
After the successful Culture II; Offset, Takeoff and Quavo managed to execute the most riskiest move yet - the release of the Migos solo albums. Being the first to step up to the plate in late 2018, Quavo debuted his solo effort, “Quavo Huncho” to mostly negative reception. Shortly after we received the highly impressive, “The Last Rocket” from Takeoff, and the awfully average “Father of 4” album from Offset. Creatively, the trio seemed to be on different pages, as well as a creative burn out.
Since then, we’ve seen a plethora of emerging rap acts from Charlotte’s charismatic Dababy, to Chicago’s Polo G. A lot has changed in the last two years.; Travis Scott’s” Astroworld” took over the world by the storm, Drake nearly dodged a k--- shot from Pusha T, and Kanye West fully turned to God with the help of his choir. The whole landscape of rap has changed drastically since Culture I and Culture II.
With rap albums probably at its lowest point in terms of commercial success, it’s popularity has never waned. Very few albums in the last couple of years have managed to capture the cultural landscape and reshape it how Culture I did in 2017. With rap heavyweights (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Nas, etc.) out of the limelight, rap has needed a savior - in this case saviors.
Outside of Lil Uzi dominating billboard charts with his long awaited “Eternal Atake”, it’s been apparent we needed the return of Atlanta’s superhero trio.
Busting back into the scene earlier this year., We’ve seen Migos bust out 2 official singles. Both singles not only shows that the three rappers needed this brief and short break - they’re invigorated, hungry, excited, and ready for more. “Racks 2 Skinny” and “Need It” featuring Florida’s Youngboy Never Broke Again. On each track, the cousins each get their time to shine with punishing bars that dominate every second with sharp precision. With the announcement of “Culture III” last year, fans began to speculate when would be their time to strike. If the two tracks are indication for what’s to come - we can safely assume that Migos are back, coming back for their crowns, and are back to reshape the culture in their image once again.
