The final piece of the trilogy is here. Culture 3 dropped earlier this month and it's the conclusion to the Culture trilogy. The Migos took off even further as being an astronomic group in rap music with the first installment of Culture in 2017. It resulted in their first number one song on Billboard with Bad and Boujee featuring Lil Uzi Vert. It was also Uzi's first number one song on Billboard respectively. That album was special to the Migos where, at that point in time, they established the new popular flow we heard in music four years ago and to a degree, still to this day.
Culture 2 would eventually follow and it received more mixed reactions compared to its predecessor at the time. Although there were songs like Stir Fry and Motorsport on that project, there were grievances of C2 being too long and that some songs could have been left off the album. Now that Culture 3 is out, TheMSQShop's head writer Jay Guevara and intern Thomas give their 2 View of Culture 3.
Jay Guevara's View
To let everyone know, I don't listen to Migos on the regular. My rap music ear is more catered to wrestling referenced drug music of Griselda, the lyricism of Nickelus F, and lo-fi music of Flying Lotus or an Ohbliv. However, I do like some of the Migos music prior to Culture 3. Fight Night is a classic to me. When I turned C3 on, I LOVED HOW THEY GOT RIGHT TO IT WITH AVALANCHE.
They got straight to the rapping without even letting the beat breathe. It told me initially that they were all about business on that track. All three of the rappers bodied their verses on Avalanche. When it comes to the Drake feature on Having Our Way, he gave them a solid feature. The chemistry between Drake and Migos mesh very well. The Cardi B feature was rather expected. Not the best Cardi I heard but it was enough to do the job for Type Shit. The features were solid. I wasn't expecting the Pop Smoke feature to sound good on a Migos project because of the two different sounds they respectively have. The NBA Youngboy feature was spot on though.
I will say that C3 is similar to C2 in regards to having the same issue of being too long of an album. Some of the songs in the second half just aren't attention-grabbing. The opening of Mahomes doesn't do it for me "S-U-C-C-E-S-S, having success...". It can go up in the club after a DJ transition but for me, it doesn't do anything for me and what I like. The second half of the album feels like songs that could've been used for something else or just kept on the hard drive honestly. For a casual listener, it's a good project to listen to. High-quality production, and consistent flows, are things that events will enjoy considering venues are opening back up and more people are outside. There are a few tracks I'll revisit but it's not for me. It doesn't attract my ear as much as the preferences I mentioned at the starting of my view. C3 may not be as iconic as C1 but it's better than its predecessor Culture 2. Their fans would love this project.
Thomas' View
While I don’t consider myself an avid listener, I am someone who understands Migos‘ imprint on popular music. Following the release of YRN in 2013, it was clear to me that Migos were on their way to becoming an undeniable cultural force. Their sound was infectious and their performances on that record were charismatic. The bar was set even higher with Culture, then lowered dramatically with Culture 2 and the members following solo releases, so my expectations weren’t very high going into this record.
Culture 2 was a discordant LP with a bloated tracklist capping off at 24 songs, however, there were still gems in the tracklist that showcased the group's ability to bounce off of one another effortlessly, bringing unparalleled energy to a track. Unfortunately, Culture 3 carried over a lot of what made its predecessor such a slog to get through. The instrumentals are largely uninspired, and with the exception of the album opener, the chemistry between Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff is virtually nonexistent.
On a more positive note, I admire the attempt at introspection on Antisocial featuring Juice WRLD. However, it’s followed up by Why Not, a song that conceptually contradicts it in a way that reads as unintentional.
With three years between the releases of Culture 2 and Culture 3, I feel that not much of this time was spent trying to create a cohesive record. With this being the finale to a series weighed down by a title with such heavy implications, I’m unsure if Culture 3 is truly the grand sendoff to the series that Migos hoped it would be.
Stream Culture 3 on Spotify HERE.
Follow the writers for the article Thomas on Instagram: @thomas.rhj and Twitter @oko_wicasa and Jay Guevara @justinhisprime on all social media.