‘In late January, the rap group Migos dropped the highly-anticipated album Culture II, the follow-up to their 2017 masterpiece Culture.

The trio saw huge success after they released Culture last year. With songs like Bad and Boujee and T Shirt, the Migo brand grew exponentially as listeners couldn’t get enough of the young stars from Atlanta.

If you’re looking for a review on Culture, check out my review from last year.

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to feel about Culture II. A big reason is that Migos’ rap style has changed throughout their careers, especially in the past year.

Each member of Migos has expanded their names past the rap group, with Quavo dropping a collab album with Travis Scott called Huncho Jack Jack Huncho, as well as Offset featuring on many songs in 21 Savage’s album Without Warning. I feared that all of this success, which has led to a life of diamonds dancing on their wrists and ice on their chains, would transform their music into something I wouldn’t like.

I was wrong.

One word I can use to describe this album is boujee. Urban Dictionary defines the word as “High class,” “flossin’,” “ballin’,” “One who possesses swag.” “Elite,” “rich.”

Bougee is a style that fans began to see in Culture; Culture II really showed the growth the rap group has made over the past few years.

Comparing the two albums, Culture had only 13 songs, which is nearly half the number of Culture II’s 24 songs. The addition of 11 more songs ultimately allowed Migos to not only showcase their different styles, from laid back verses to in-your-face lyrics, but also allowed featured artists like 21 Savage, Gucci Mane, Travis Scott, Drake, Big Sean, Ty Dolla $ign, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, 2 Chainz and Post Malone to exert their musical influence on the album too.

Another aspect of the album that I loved was the producing. In the rap game, “producing” basically means the person who creates the beat to the song.

In the case of Culture II, the producing was on point.

A few days before the album dropped, members of Migos posted a picture of the album’s producers on Instagram. Executive producers included “Huncho + Dj Durel,” Huncho being an alter-ego of Migos member Quavo.

Let’s start with the first song that really caught my attention, Made Men. This laid-back tune is one of the best songs on the album. Its beat seems derived from R&B roots, starting with a soft piano transitioning into each Migos verse, each revelling in the glory of the rap lifestyle. It’s the perfect song to listen to while cruising late night in a Rolls Royce or Bentley.

The next song I really like is called Top Down On Da NAWF. For the uninitiated, “Da NAWF” is the rap group’s way of paying homage to their hometown. It refers to Interstate I-85, which runs through the northside of Atlanta, the area where Migos grew up.

The song opens with Quavo’s lyrics, “Top down on da nawf, I’m home, I could never get lost. No. No.”, really showing Migos’ appreciation for the city that turned them into icons.

I mentioned before how much I loved the producing on this album, but my favorite beat has to be in the song Stir Fry, produced by the legendary Pharrell Williams. The beat is composed of diverse sounds blended together, such as a series of whistle-like sounds matched by electronic pulses. The beat will get almost anyone in the mood to dance.

There are many other songs I could talk about on this album, but the best way for you to find out if you like it is to take a listen. Culture II is available on all major streaming devices such as Apple Music, Spotify and Soundcloud.