By Hunter Bych, Contributor
[Capitol; 2018]
Rating: 4/10

Key Tracks: “Too Playa”, “MotorSport”, “Culture National Anthem”

After the positive reception of “Bad and Boujee”, the main single from Culture, you could not escape the Migos. From being featured in tons of Billboard hits, to Offset’s relationship with Cardi B, they broke into the mainstream in an incredibly short amount of time. Now comes the release of Culture II, which represents the impact of Migos in the worst way possible: an ungodly huge ego and reach that leaves the listener underwhelmed, bored and questioning what everyone was going on about. Where did they go wrong?

…Well having an ass-numbingly long album REALLY doesn’t help, but that alone isn’t what makes this album irritating.

Culture II suffers from “sequelitis”; it is more of the original Culture, but it does not seem to expand on anything to warrant a sequel. Some slightly new beats and new words, but the themes and rhythms don’t expand on anything. That especially goes for the rhythms, as the same flows for hooks can make any album obnoxiously repetitive. Repeat that for 24 tracks and it’ll drive you insane, leaving you wondering, “Why am I listening to this for almost two hours?” The attention span of the audience should never be a concern for anything that is looking for mainstream appeal.

The first half is precisely that. A few fun lyrics, but the beats all have the same annoying, generic style, making you question how much you like trap enough to sit through the whole first half. There’s better stuff halfway through the B-side of the album.

Tracks like “MotorSport”, “Too Playa” and “Notice Me” are where Migos can play off their guest features, but the bangers are still not as punchy as they should be, making the repetition devolve to near redundancy. “Culture National Anthem” does give a bit of a redemption at the end, as it has some soothing beats that can make one feel better after the hour and a half drone, and is a decent finale that will most likely be something for the fanbase to cling on.

Culture II has no reason to be as long as it is. Making it stretch like this wears the Migos flow and formula thin for anyone interested in them. There are some decent tracks, but it’s not worth sifting through all of them to remember what they sound like, let alone picking one out that doesn’t sound like the others.

Listen here: