Top 5 Reasons Why Culture II Won’t Be Getting An Instant Replay [Album Review]

Let me start this review off by saying, I like the Migos. I do. Do I love them? No. Do they make banger tracks that make me and my girlfriends twerk uncontrollably? Absolutely.

We’ve seen the rise and come up of the Migos since they hit the scene in 2011. And since the release of their 2017 banger, “Bad and Boujee”, we’ve rooted for them ever since. Culture I was undeniably an album full of hits. Whether you’re a fan of mumble rap or not, you couldn’t ignore the reach, influence, and tone that the album had on the hip hop culture.

Which leads us to today…Culture II. A highly anticipated album for 2018. Although members of Migos dropped several projects since Culture I (i.e. QC, 21 Savage collaboration), there was something nostalgic about having the trio drop a follow up. I’ve actually heard people post:

“Man I can’t wait till Culture come out, I’m listening to it all weekend!”.

But while some of us thought we would be replaying the album to the highest bass levels, Culture II misses the mark. So let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why 95% Culture II is not replay worthy:

1. The flows are identical in all 24 tracks

After the 10th song I realized I was losing track of what song I was listening to, or if I was in the beginning, middle, end of the album. While I’m not expecting Migos to become Nas or J. Cole overnight, it would be nice to hear something different. Play with the tones…the sounds…SOMETHING. It gets boring to hear the same short cadence from all three of them. At this point, it’s like opening the same surprise door over and over.

2. Too long – 24 tracks…really Migos?!

For artist like Migos, we don’t need an album of 24 songs. They’re the kind of artist you get 10-12 tracks from and we straight. Hell, even Culture I only had 13 tracks. In case artists forget, there is a thing called over saturating your brand. And Migos is teetering that line. Putting too many songs on an album definitely signals indecision and lack of confidence in giving the audience a solid track list. We gave Chris the same criticism for Heartbreak by the way.

3. You need an interpreter to understand anything

That Everyday Struggle interview was real. The Breakfast Club interview was REAL. Mumble rap is a thing and I literally cannot digest 24 tracks of inaudible lyrics in one sitting (then again, maybe that’s a reason to replay the album?!…or nah). I also don’t feel like I need to look up the lyrics for every song. I’d rather not replay it.

4. 80% of lyrics consists of words repeated and Migos adlibs

If you listen to Walk It Talk It ft. Drake, Flooded, Stir Fry, or any song off Culture II really …then you will start to notice a pattern. A pattern that was lit on Culture I and we appreciated it. But NOW. Now it’s out of hand. Majority of the songs are hook driven and are repeated with some adlibs. While it might be tolerable for the first 3 singles, it becomes a bit redundant on 24 tracks. Again, this issue probably wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t so damn long.

5. Autotune takes away from the amazing production.

I just really hate autotune on anyone else but T-Pain and Kanye. But despite my disdain for the production enhancement, Migos has a way of putting autotune on the wrong parts. Like the adlibs and random verses in the songs. They really could’ve taken the autotune off CC ft. Gucci. That was the last straw for me.

While these are reasons I haven’t taken the step to put the whole album on replay. There are a few tracks that I considered putting into rotation this week. Check em out:

1. Stir Fry
2. Narcos
3. BBO (Bad Bitches Only) ft. 21 Savage
4. Made Men (production is fire)