Alright first of all guys, let’s get one thing straight. I’m a Migos fan. I’ve still got YRN in the playlist, so don’t think I’m a hater. I probably have a higher tolerance for them than most of you. So don’t leave any stupid comments, because I know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, it’s the first anniversary of Culture, the Migos album that launched them into the mainstream. There’s a lot of hype around this album, from the prolific producers on it, to just the Migos reassuring us it’s going to be great. I was very excited for this album and stayed up to listen to it and everything, which is why I hate to say this, but their sequel album, Culture II, is disappointing.

Considering what Offset showed us he can do on “Without Warning,” and Quavo on “Huncho Jack,” this is very disappointing. It feels like they threw out 24 throw-away tracks and called it Culture II. I’m not kidding. They should be thrown away because an effort could be made to make better songs, and we all know it.

I won’t go over every single song there’s just too many, but I wanna go over the best and worst of it.

Let’s start with what didn’t work.

“Supastars”-  This track is passable, but this is where the problems start to show themselves, which is why I want to go over it. The beat is relatively average but nothing special. Quavo brings good energy on the hook, it’s not too repetitive, and what’s he’s saying is tough. But after he finishes his verse, he needs to just let the next guy hop on. The ten “yea’s” after his verse and then Quavo on the hook again is just disrespectful. Once you hear it again the value isn’t the same, and it’s just repetitive. We like your voice, man, but you’re dragging the song out. Takeoff comes in and does his thing, but it’s nothing special, and then we have to wait for Quavo to mix in his now-annoying hook before Offset’s verse. Who would think Huncho would be the one ruining the song? His hook is literally dragging the song out, Offset’s flow on this verse is the quickest and Quavo’s monotonous slow hook underwhelms Offset’s whole part. SKIP.

“Auto Pilot” – This track has so much potential that it makes me sad. Quavo starts out great. His hook is exciting and gets you moving a little, but it’s still long and chant-like and slows down the action. Quavo takes his time on his verse and does pretty well, which gets me excited for the next verse. Then I hear that hook again. At this point, it’s two minutes into the song and I’ve only heard Quavo. It would be one thing if his hook was faster and not so long, but it’s not. You can’t expect to have this song banging in the club when it’s two minutes before the main rappers of the group even hop on. If the hook didn’t play after every verse, I wouldn’t be bored a quarter of the way through the track. SKIP.

White Sand- Wow. Migos have now soiled Travis Scott’s first major feature of 2018. I’m baffled how such a boring simple hook got past Ty dolla $ign, Quavo and Travis Scott himself. I mean Quavo clearly forgot about to make hooks on this whole project so I guess he gets a pass. Big Sean’s part is unnecessary and feels weird in the song. No one cares about your girl Sean. We get it. Y’all in love. SKIP

But it’s not all bad.  Here’s what DID work, even if I think they can do better:

“Walk it Like I Talk it”- I honestly didn’t want to mention this song, but Drake’s in it. If the general public is going to complain about Lil Pump saying “Gucci Gang” 53 times, Quavo doesn’t get a pass for this hook. I’ve already complained about Quavo’s hooks enough though. Other than that though I’m sure we’ll be playing this song for some time.

“Open it Up” – “Deadz” 2? Really? This is my favorite song on the album, but the one that shows me they didn’t put all their effort into this. Quavo uses the same flow and delivery over the hard percussion and cinematic-like synths that he did in “Deadz.” The hook is also a bit more creative than the one on “Deadz.” Takeoff slows the track down a bit, but then Offset comes in and hypes us back up to finish it. It’s the Migos we want–them all working off of each other to make a track you want to jump to. But when the Migos put something like this on the album, it’s like they’re telling us they didn’t try as hard on the other tracks.

“BBO” – I knew Kanye produced this first time I heard it. Only Ye would have a sample like that in his Mac somewhere. If you think 21 Savage can’t do a hook, I hope this proves otherwise. Who else can keep their voice completely monotone and still get you hyped and boppin’ to the song? If it weren’t for the beats, it would be a lot harder for him, but you gotta give 21 credit, for a guy who has basically one range he can still put out club worthy hooks. Quavo really shows up on this track; when Ye worked on your beat, you better come with the energy on the track. Quavo’s flow is cocky and charismatic. When he’s on the track, I want to feel like what he’s saying is law and that’s how it feels here. You can hear him humming in the background through the song using his voice as another addition to the beat, like a constant reminder that Quavo is behind everything. Takeoff shows up Offset, which is saying something because Offset’s verse wasn’t slight at all.

Overall, I’d say the biggest issue on the album was unnecessarily long track length and underwhelming Quavo hooks. Takeoff was pretty much perfect throughout all of it, he finds negative space on any beat to deliver hard punchlines in his bars. Offset had a few underwhelming verses and corny bars, but what can you expect when there are 24 songs?

I hope the only reason Migos are doing this is because Quality Control is forcing them to meet a quota and they’re struggling to meet it.

Final score: 6/10