Quavo - Quavo Huncho

Quavo
Quavo Huncho
2018
Spotify

In the six years since Migos broke onto the scene with "Bando" they have done nothing but thrive. Taking over both middle of the road pop fans and trap fans alike has meant huge numbers for the Atlanta trio. Offset and Takeoff have dialed their independent work in and found a niche for those, but it has always been Quavo who is at the front of the pack. His features were always clamored for, turning damn near anything He touched into gold. However since the release of Quavo Huncho, Huncho Jack, a collaboration with Travis Scott, the shine on Quavo's star has started to fade some. His features of late have felt like rinse and repeat, with ideas being recycled time after time. Let me give you an example: on "HUNCHO DREAMS" Quavo literally uses Drake's "In My Feelings" flow but replaces "kiki" with "niki" and that is kind of it. he also references Iggy Azeala in the song which could not feel more out of fucking touch. There are so few moments that grad your attention that the ad libs start to feel silly when punctuating nothing lines. Drake features on "FLIP THE SWITCH" and actually delivers some rap rap, which isn't all that bad. The beat however has almost no edge at all, the ending feels like some odd half circus half steel drum production. For a trap record the bass is really dialed back and you find yourself missing the the more bombastic sounds. Everything is all to round on this album. "CHAMPAGNE ROSE" features Maddona with this robotic voice that sounds absolutely nothing like her, luckily Cardi B's verse on the track is a bright if all too brief spot. Cardi's verse is seriously like 30 seconds long and then Quavo and Maddona drone on for the remainder of the run time.

Migos are usually experts at beat selection, but god Quavo misses the mark here. Takeoff has a stellar verse on "KEEP THAT SHIT" but again it is so damn short. It's like Quavo has no idea how to let his features shine, and instead cuts them off at the knees. "FUCK 12" features a Malcom X speech about civil rights and learning who taught you how to hate the person you are, but then Quavo just starts talking about fabrics and Atlanta Hawks tickets. I honestly don't care if Quavo wades in to politics at all, but if you say something at least be able to back it up a bit. Offset somewhat saves the track with his flow and ad libs, and it truly does make you realize that the Migos need to never breakup. It takes until the 13th track to finally inject some fucking energy into this damn album. Travis Scott comes in on "RERUN" and the duo make a track that is better than anything on their double album and better than anything on this one as well. "GO ALL THE WAY" is another bop with a slick 8-bit trap hybrid beat. Why did it take so long to get to the good parts of this record? The album's closer "LOST" has Quavo and Kid Cudi taking us on to another plane of existence, which has it's moments but in the end is still disappointing. There are a few moments that do stand out on QUAVO HUNCHO but for the most part it feels like pedestrian wanna be trap bangers that never are what they hope to be. Let us pray again that Migos NEVER breakup.

5.1 out of 10