OK, that cover terrifies me.
If you’ve been following hip-hop for some time now, whether it be mainstream, indie, underground or whatever, you’ve noticed the popularity of one Atlanta-based hip-hop group: Migos. Whether you like or hate them, these guys have been making waves since 2015 with singles like “Bad and Boujee” & “Versace,” appearing in songs with other rappers and even pop stars along with their biggest album successes, Culture and Culture II. You’ll also notice that the three have been doing some projects outside the group, like Offset doing a joint project with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’ called Without Warning, and now we have Quavo’s solo effort.
One Quavious Keyate Marshall has been the Migo that’s always in front and active outside of the Migos, appearing on tracks from DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, Post Malone, Liam Payne, and even Halsey among others. He even had a joint project with Travis Scott last year with Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho. Now going into this album, with 19 tracks clocking in an hour and 6 minutes, hearing the single “W O R K I N M E” (and yes, it is spelled with that aesthetic, vaporware style), and seeing the artwork that looks like a certain music critic with the best teeth in the game, that’s sadly the only thing interesting about it.
I’m just going to cut to the chase with this. This album is dull, and I mean everything about it is just so tedious and lifeless.
Now with the content, you know what to expect from Quavo or anyone from the Migos to be honest. It’s going to be flexing and flossing, f***ing girls (especially yours), getting racks, and maybe once in a while, he’ll try to be deep (the key word being TRY). It doesn’t work out as it’s mostly just sprinkled within the mundane content he keeps on talking about, and what’s worse about it is his range. He always has the same auto-croon performance in hooks and his usual basic rapping.
And speaking of content, one of the worst examples here of trying to be deep is the song “Fuck 12,” where he takes a sample of a 1962 Malcolm X speech for a funeral service and audio from the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” movement, and in between that are basic bars about the stuff I just mentioned earlier. For those that are into sports a lot, especially basketball, there’s the line “Get no playin’ time, Kendrick Perkins,” a reference to a basketball player from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Another track that might have some interesting stuff compared to the others is “Huncho Dreams,” a response to Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie Dreams” from Queen this year. It’s telling us that he and Nicki have had a past relationship, and there’s a lot of speculation about it, mainly from them appearing in that remix of “Boo’d Up” (and no, the both of them didn’t need to be on it. That song is damn good with Ella Mai on her own!!). Then there’s “Big Bro,” which sparked controversy as there’s rumors of a sneak diss aimed at late emo rapper Lil’ Peep, according to these lyrics:
I’m a OG now, so you need me (OG, I’m a OG)
Think you poppin’ Xanax bars, but it’s Fentanyl
(No-no bars, it’s Fentanyl)
Think you’re living life like rockstars but you’re dead now (Yeah)
I don’t know if it’s intended for that, but for Quavo to say that and to have the rest of this album (and in general) talking about drugs a lot is kind of hypocritical. Other than that, the rest of these songs are basically Migos songs without the other two, although there are few features from them, with Takeoff on “Keep That Shit” and Offset on “Fuck 12,” and the other features don’t really amp things up as much. 21 Savage is on “Pass Out,” and he brought this corny-ass line:
I’m not Will Smith, but I’m tryna get jiggy (Fuck her)
He just made the song even lamer with that 20-year reference, and this song wasn’t even that good to begin with. I’d rather listen to “Get Jiggy with It” 200 times than this.
Drake was dry in his verse on “Flip the Switch,” and I have no idea who Saweetie is, but after “Give it To EM,” I’ll continue with that because she just seems like the hook girl on there. At first, I thought the surprise feature in here was Madonna on “Champagne Rose” along with Cardi B as well, but if you’re expecting some big verse from her (and why on here of all things), then you’re going to be disappointed. She just does an auto-tune hook and shares it with Quavo. Travis Scott and Kid Cudi are both on here as well, and their features are OK to good at least. Cudi is on the last track “Lost,” where Quavo does open up on being famous and not letting the money consume him, and while this subject isn’t anything new, at least Quavo is talking about something else, and Cudi being on there does help.
Oh, and one last thing: the production is just not good. While it has some OK spots and usage of woodwind and percussion, you still hear the same 808s, bassy sounds, and trap production in all of these songs, and they don’t feel much different. It’s like if you used the first beat and then remove some parts of it on the 5th or 6th track, but you still hear the same damn thing. It’s a copy and paste production, and even when there’s different producers, it still feels like one producer did the whole thing. Then again, if that was the case, at least that one producer would’ve had some more interesting beats.
Overall, we have in our hands another rap album that has no business being 19 tracks and an hour long (aside from streaming reasons) that has no interesting beats alongside blase rapping and the usual content that comes with it, but it’s not like sticking to what you know doesn’t work. Pusha T, Westside Gunn and Freddie Gibbs made projects this year where they do stick to their guns, but the difference is they had better beats, a better presence on the mic, and a length that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
VERDICT: Skip It. That’s it. I got nothing else. The album is just not good at all.
Quavo Huncho is available on Quality Control Music/Capitol/Motown Records via CD, streaming and digital download.