Album Review: Culture II, Migos

Back in 2014, as more and more people moved away from buying or downloading to streaming albums, Billboard revised its ranking methodology for the charts. Now, the generally accepted system is that 1,500 streams of any artist’s song will equate to one album sale. The result is that musicians with an eye for commercial success have begun to package and produce their music in a different way. No longer are people talking in terms of easily digestible LPs with 10 or 12 songs – there’s a new numbers game to play.

The effect is that music production is geared more than ever towards being ear-catching (a song must be streamed for at least 30 seconds to count as a ‘play’, so there’s rarely much dilly-dallying with boring intros). The downside, however, is bloated albums that do little to merit excessive running times. For example, Chris Brown’s most recent album, Heartbreak On A Full Moon, has 40 tracks and clocks in at a ludicrous 135 minutes.

Culture II, the third release from torch-carrying hip-hop trio Migos, features 24 songs (no skits) and runs well over the 100-minute mark. And while, yes, it’s a powerful testament to their work ethic, it’s also painfully long. Indeed, for every storming tune, there’s another that should’ve been left on the cutting room floor.

The first half is where the meat is. Opening track ‘Higher We Go’, with its refrain of “Higher we go, beg and plead for the culture”, sets out a blueprint for an album recorded at a time when hip-hop itself has reached new cultural heights. Meanwhile, ‘Narcos’, ‘Auto Pilot’ and the Kanye West-produced ‘BBO (Bad Bitches Only)’ show all three rappers at their most versatile.

But by track number 10 – the appropriately titled ‘Too Much Jewellery’ – Culture II sags under the weight of its own blingventory. While the shamelessly extravagant braggadocio is entertaining (as it has been since Migos’ 2013 breakthrough hit ‘Versace’), they begin to feel lacklustre song after song after song, especially as Quavo’s introductory verses become all too predictable. On top of this, the appearances from heavyweights Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign and Big Sean on ‘White Sand’ don’t add half as much as they should.

There’s a few diamonds in the rough in the latter stages. ‘Gang Gang’ is an ode to the trio’s love and support for one another; ‘Made Men’ gets rid of the trap sound and successfully explores early Kanye-style R&B; and ‘Motorsport’ features some great one-off lines courtesy of female rap royalty (“Ride the dick like a BMX/ No nigga wanna be my ex/ I love when he go on tour/’Cause he cums more, when I see him less” from Quavo’s real-life girlfriend Cardi B; and “You don’t wanna smoke with me, this is a laced blunt/ Rap’s Jackie Chan, we ain’t pullin’ them fake stunts” from Nicki Minaj).

Cynical chart-grab or not, the fans are hardly like to care. There’s just about enough good stuff in here to warrant Migos’ place in the modern rap renaissance.

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Rating: 6/10