Father of 4 - Offset: Review
Offset
Review By Lavender:
When Migos dropped Culture in early 2017 it felt like the most important album in the entire world. After Childish Gambino shouted out the groups hit Bad & Boujee and it blew up to one of the biggest hits of the year they used the album as a platform to launch a full scale takeover of the music industry. 2017 also included a flurry of features for the trio and more imitators than anybody could count, making the Migos sound inescapable in 2017. When Offset dropped his fantastic collaboration album with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin Without Warning it felt like Migos were completely unstoppable. But the Christmas day release of Quavo and Travis Scott collab Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho may have signified what 2018 would be like for the group. The "Culture" of Migos quickly became one of pure oversaturation and it was impossible to avoid them on nearly every big mixtape, and they dropped the ridiculously lengthy Culture II, an album that had its moments but was full of filler. So following some very mediocre albums from his fellow Migos Offset has the tough task of making their sound interesting and releasing the best album of the bunch. The success of the former is debatable, but the success of the latter is guaranteed.
We can start right from the beginning, because the project gets off to a pretty hot start. The title track is up first and it sets the tone for a more lyrically dense project then we've ever heard from any of the Migos before. Big Rube and Offset jump on a lowkey beat to discuss the ethics of fatherhood, Offset specifically apologizing personally to his kids making it a meaningful highlight to get the project started. After this is How Did I Get Here a relaxed trap ballad that features a pretty decent verse from Offset but ends with a killer feature from J. Cole. The track also transitions well into Lick a pretty well rounded banger with some sweet elements on the hook and pretty good lyrics by Migos banger standards.
This is the point where the album slips a little bit into a very average plane. Starting with Tats On My Face a super generic track that sounds like multiple songs we've heard the group make before. Although it does feature the "Can't suck dick with no braces" lyric that is impossible not to smile at. This highlights a huge problem across the album, executing the "Migos" formula pretty well time and time again, but the sheer oversaturation of that sound makes Father of 4 a little bit of a lull to listen to. Made Men and Don't Lose Me are tracks that could fit comfortably in as filler in pretty much any Migos project over the last two years, and other songs even despite their features find no way to make an impact. On Fleek and Quarter Milli feature Quavo and Gucci Mane respectively and neither deliver at the top of their lines, and as a result both the tracks kind of fall flat.
Other times the features themselves are the issue, on Wild Wild West Offset brings a little bit of new flare to the song in its fun first half that sets up a great tune. Unfortunately a part of that tune is a lazily delivered and completely uninspired Gunna verse that you're likely to forget about while it's still going on. North Star however is actually made up of a good Offset performance and a good Cee Lo Green feature, the problem is they are thrown together so lackadaisically that it makes absolutely no sense, and the two parts being one song totally crushes any potential either of them had.
But at other points on the album some of Offset's guests shine and help round out some of its best tracks. Cardi B comes in at the tail end of Clout for a killer verse that helps turn a decent song into a pretty good one, but by all means the highlight is 21 Savage. Travis Scott and Offset comfortably hold their own on Legacy one of the best tracks here with a killer beat, but the best verse of the night has to go to 21 who brings his cold and cutthroat demeanor as hotly as ever.
On top of that there are some great tracks Offset is plenty capable of handling on his own, Underrated is a gem right in the middle of the project. And the album ends off on a solid note with its only single the unusual Red Room and the solid track Came A Long Way as its closer.
What Offset presents on Father of 4 is an album full of talented people that executes more than half of its tracks pretty well. There is no Stir Fry or Bad & Boujee in the tracklist but what he has done is cut down on the filler in a big way and provide an hour of material that feels like it’s mostly needed. It once again establishes Offset as the go-to solo artist of the trio and reinforces the fact that there is still a little in the tank for the trio, but it'll take a little bit more thought and execution to reach it. 6.5/10
