‘Culture II’ hours long

Album Art Courtesy of Capital Records Migos (Offset, Quavo and Takeoff) deliver hits and misses on highly anticipated album “Culture II.”

Written By Nick Horwat, Co-A&E Editor

A day before their sophomore studio album “Culture” could turn a year old, Migos look to one up their 2017 chart topper with the release of “Culture II.” The trio of Quavo, Takeoff and Offset came through with a party album from beginning to end, from the featured artists to the 106-minute run time.

With 24 songs and 10 featured artists, there are bound to be highs and lows, so here are some of the highlights and letdowns of Migos’ “Culture II.”

BEST SINGLE: “STIR FRY”

The second single from the album was released on Dec. 20 and gave production credits to Pharrell Williams who is also featured in the music video. The song features a very up-tempo beat that compliments the energy Quavo brings to the chorus. On top of being a very clean and radio friendly addition to the Migos’ catalog, the NBA picked it up as their All-Star Game’s official song.

BEST FEATURE: BIG SEAN “WHITE SAND”

It came as a surprise to see Big Sean among the names featured on the album and his spot on the song “White Sand” is one that really stuck out as a verse to remember. His choice of lyrics and flow coast perfectly through the trap beat. Something about his flow is so infectious; it’s hard to not bob your head. The same song also features Travis Scott and Ty Dolla $ign.

BEST Beat: “Too Playa” ft. 2 Chainz

If you listen to hip-hop and rap, you understand how important a beat is to a song. The beat to “Too Playa” is silky smooth with the clever inclusion of a saxophone over a bassy hip-hop beat. The sax, played by Lee Buddle, is what gives this beat life, a new element that is not experimented much with in rap. In the early adlib of the song, Quavo mentions the sax and that Huncho and DJ Durel made the beat. Durel is credited as producer for the song.

BEST Song: “Notice Me” ft. Post Malone

This is a dramatic turn in pace for the album, 20 songs in. Post Malone is well-versed in mellow beats for songs. “Notice Me” is about the four rappers’ rise to fame and fortune when not too long ago, they were not the household names they are today. What makes this song so great is how it sets itself apart from the rest of the album, a break from bass heavy tunes prior. Will it be the most well known song from “Culture II?” Most likely not, but it is an underrated masterpiece.

WORST Single: “MotorSport” ft. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj

It feels like this song came out forever ago. Released on Oct. 27, the trio grouped up with Nicki Minaj and Offset’s fiancé Cardi B. It currently has over 111 million listens on Spotify and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, but all that is lost over Nicki Minaj’s verse – a flow that does not match that of her counterparts on the song. The bad verse from Minaj and the oversaturation of the song being played are leading factors into hitting the skip button after the first verse.

WORST Feature: Nicki Minaj “MotorSport”

Since she was the worst part of the worst single, she takes the cake for the worst feature award.

WORST Beat: “Top Down on the NAWF”

To start, I had to look up what NAWF is. The result was just a different way of saying “north.” But back to the beat, which was just missing something. It felt empty for a hip-hop beat. The lyrical content is pretty stellar and truly deserved something better to be played over.

WORST Song: “Beast”

The song sounds like filler for the entire 4:20 run time – a mediocre beat with lyrics that don’t really have substance. The chorus references back to previous song “CC” ft. Gucci Mane, and the most repetitive line of the album: “She a lil beast.” There is not too many things that point to filler songs on the entire album, but “Beast” has the feel of a lazily put together time waster and is easily one of the more forgettable songs Migos have ever put out.

Overall, “Culture II” is a compelling album that has songs that have the potential to be chart toppers and have staying power. Give it time to grow on the public and we’re bound to hear a handful of these songs for a long while. If it’s any question of Migos’ staying power, the first “Culture” has held a top 40 spot on the Billboard top 200 albums list for a full year now.