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Culture III, by the Migos, reminds us of what we missed while giving us what we needed.
Boarded up apartments, dozens of brothers in dreads posted up on the stairs, and images of gold jewelry were our introduction to the Migos. Their first single, “Bando”, crept up in 2012 and introduced us to their group and signaled the beginning of their run. From 2013 to 2018, the Migos went on a tear, dropping hit singles like Versace, Fight Night, Look at My Dab, Bad and Boujee, and Stir Fry, while also making waves in television on the Emmy award-winning show Atlanta.
Deceptively lyrical, the Migos changed music through their flows, wordplay, and style. They weren’t the first to use the triplet flow in rap, but the way they popularized it led to it being nicknamed the “Migos Flow”. They brought dances like the Dab on the scene and popularized words like bando, cap, and wig. It is another reason we view them as influential, but as time has progressed, there were some who felt as if the game had changed too much for them to adjust.
Culture III, a 19 song album from the trio, shows that not only are they as dominant as ever, but they have the unique ability to speak to the under-30 crowd and over 30 crowds at the same time. By shifting rap’s focus to cadence and flow, they gave the blueprint for an entire generation of kids to follow, but by embracing punchline and bars…
