At this point, it’s safe to say that Migos are on the verge of overexposure. As they conquered the Billboard Top 40, Offset became one half of Hip Hop’s reigning power couple and cemented his group’s A-list status. But this ubiquity hasn’t necessarily translated into artistic consistency. While Culture II was a bloated disaster filled with D-sides, Quavo’s recent solo album similarly felt overstuffed. Thankfully, Takeoff’s solo debut The Last Rocket is a welcomed change of pace; it’s succinct, amusing, and has the occasional flare of experimentation that recalls why the trio became so successful in the first place.
The Last Rocket is a loose concept album which in a similar vein to Weezy’s alien alter ego, presents Hip Hop glamour and success as otherworldly and extraterrestrial. Album-opener “Martian” kicks things off with an announcer broadcasting a literal take off. And once the rocket is in space, Takeoff starts dropping braggadocious bars over a menacing, bouncy beat. This bleeds into “She Gon Wink,” a sleeper groove with a strong chorus from Quavo.
Other than Quavo, the project is sparse on features. In the absence of his groupmates, Takeoff has taken a streamlined approach with some tracks not even reaching three minutes. This constraint heightens a solemn song like “None To Me” because it ensures that a dark theme doesn’t get muddled by contradictions. In their catalog, Migos have unabashedly celebrated bling aesthetics. However, this track serves as a nihilistic exploration of the do-it-for-the-Gram lifestyle. On the choruses, Takeoff discusses how designer clothes are “nothing” to him because material wealth is becoming mundane. Despite seeming like the average boast, he later opens up about being betrayed by his own brother: “My brother changed up on me for dead guys / Can’t look ’em in the face cause he got red eyes / Far from I know, he a demon / When I found out he was scheming.”
Another highlight is the lead-single “Last Memory,” an airy, breezy track produced by MonstaBeatz. Takeoff shows an impressive range in his flow, going from ferocious and energized to nonchalant mumbling within seconds. In addition to songs filled with new sonic textures and themes, there are plenty of straightforward bangers like “Lead the Wave” and “Vacation.”
The album’s quality does, however, plummet in the last quarter. Both “Soul Plane” and “Bruce Wayne” don’t add anything new or inventive to the aerospace formula. But “Infatuation,” a pop track featuring Dayytona Fox, is an unexpected, lighthearted curveball. The Atlanta artist takes a break from the trap lifestyle to raps a romantic ode over spongy, groovy synths.
With its brevity and risk-taking, The Last Rocket succeeds at illustrating Takeoff’s talents. Though there’s no outright banger and some filler, this solo album serves as a glimmer of hope for the longevity of Hip Hop’s current favorite trio.
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The man delivered, if you’re a Migos fan you’ll probably think I always knew he was the Beyonce of Migos. Quavos album was hela nice but this right here 5 stars. If you’re not a Migos fan you’re salty ass should save your energy and don’t bother listening to the album.
Once you said Qauvo’s album was hela nice you were lying to the world and yourself
Best Migos solo project ever….. That’s not saying much…..Think I’ll pass on this album.
This shit get same ratings as Kamikaze. GTFOH
Y’all rated this trash higher than Drogas Wave lmfaoooooooooooooooooo
Same score as Drogas Wave lol this site doesn’t even make since anymore lol
This site lost all credibility eons ago. Shit is sad smh.
Guy we all love Lupe, but the benchmark for greatness isn’t measured by his style of music. Maybe if Joey dropped we could compare his Album to Lupe. We listen to takeoff to hear lines like “I’m gonna ride in my wraith I wanna look at the stars today.” If you don’t get the appeal cool, but Lupe isn’t the standard for hip hop nobody is. Drake is in his lane, Pusha is in his lane, Joey is in his lane everybody is eating and making good music for their respective core audiences.
AVG
So……. Higher than Drogas Wave lmao. Be it known, we are not gonna let this go. This album wasn’t trash, but come on!
Yall gave this the same rating as Em? A lyrical slaughter…the irony is reviews and reviewers and music like this are EXACTLY what Kamikaze is about. Morons. F critics
How do you even rate this trash? Lyricism, nope. Originality, nope. Subject matter, nope.
Migos is good, But these guys need each other. Quavo’s album wasn’t that impressing either. And I hope Offset is keeping himself warm with features. That way I could still listen to Offset with respect.
“Migos is good” – no they ain’t. And takeoff being the best Migos project is like Kevin Love being the best cavalier.
#whocares #trash #hiphopjunkfood
maybe their not your taste but you can’t denie their success. And you can’t denie the fact that Migos is inspiring a lot of these rappers coming up. You are acting like your taste is everybody’s taste. Well the migos are some of the highsest streamed artist of the world at this point. And they can’t even see us two, because they top of the world
Takeoff being the best migos project is like kevin love being the best cavalier.
#trash #whocares
Best Migos solo… of that two that exist.