OffSet’s Father of 4: Is This a Repeat or Delete?

OffSet’s Father of 4: Is This a Repeat or Delete? Click To TweetAs one-third of the Atlanta mumble trap kings of the south Migos, Mr. Offset himself, is the last to step out and recently drop his first solo album Father of 4 (Motown/Quality Control).

Now, I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t in a rush to listen to this record, especially after Offset’s other mumble trap counterpart, Quavo, pushed out the worst rap/trap album of 2018, Quavo Huncho (Motown/Quality Control). (Sorry, I didn’t listen to TakeOff’s The Last Rocket since it made the mistake of coming out three weeks after that Huncho shit.)  Oh, and it was bad, my friends. There was not one song on that whole record that was worth repeating.

But, I’m not here to talk about Quavo’s trash effort or the TakeOff album that I have yet to hear; I’m interested in what Offset decided to offer up to the fans with Father of 4.  Therefore, I fired up the Tidal app, found the record, and allowed every track to play all the way through.

Father of 4 opens with the album title track, featuring Big Rube, who provides us with a poetic moment right before the beat drops and Offset gives us a history lesson about the struggles of becoming a teen father (I was seventeen years-old when I had you/ Trying to find my soul when I had you/I was oh so broke when I had you/Locked up down the road when I had you).

Next up, it’s “How Did I Get Here” featuring J. Cole. In this track Off Set explains how he rose from trash and blossomed into fame. Your typical drug-slanging, hoe-banging, record-making shit. I mean it’s what we expect from Cardi’s husband and the other Migos. But, I took more of an issue with J. Cole, who I consider one of the best rappers of this generation. He didn’t give me anything on this track. It was too fuckin’ elementary for J.Cole. It was obvious that he was trying to fit in the trap-rap mold, and it came off as pure nothingness and failed to connect.

Then, Offset gets into full mumble trap mode, with “Lick”, “Tats On My Face”, and “Made Men”, where he discusses his drip, fucking thots, pill-popping, and kicking in doors.

After getting through tracks 1-5, I got hit with “Wild Wild West” featuring Gunna. I must admit, I gave this one a little slow twerk in the mirror.  Don’t judge me; the beat was actually knockin’ a little bit in this one and I had to do it.

Next, Offset took me from the “Wild Wild West” to the “North Star” featuring Cee-Lo Green. Offset talks about his struggles with drug use (Crown me the king/Addiction to lean/But if I can’t sip it/Momma I can’t even sleep/Got skeletons up in my closet/I’m scared to peek). Then Cee-Lo, backed up by what sounds like a good-old Black gospel choir, comes in and blows his soulfulness all over this track. I just wish that it would’ve been longer than the four minutes. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere…

Offset continues to talk about his codeine addiction, in “After Dark”, his infidelity in “Don’t Lose Me”, in which he apologizes (again) for cheating on his wife, his insecurities in “Underrated” and “Legacy” featuring Travis Scott and 21 Savage.

Then BOOM!  Here he comes with “Clout” featuring that new Grammy-Award winner Cardi B. I heard her spit her verse to this track a few days ago on Instagram and I thought it was fiyah! So, I was ready to hear it on the album. It was cool, but please give the newly-crowned rap Queen a second verse. The song—hell, the album needed it– hands down.

At this point, I’m down to the last 4 songs on Father of 4  and “On Fleek” featuring Quavo is up next. Nothing special. It’s pretty much a Migos reunion, just without Take Off. Then, we have “Quarter Milli” featuring Gucci Mane, which is obviously about how niggas be stuntin’ and stackin’ money. Next up, Offset switches back to his deep shit in “Red Room”, where he mentions the crash he was involved in that put him in the hospital back in May of last year and how he dealt with losing his grandmother.

And finally, I get to the last track on Father of 4, “Came A Long Way”, where he talks about being a star, riding in a Rolls Royce, and creating generational wealth for his family.

Overall, Father of 4 will not go down in the history books as the best trap album of 2019. There were 2 and a possible tracks I would place on repeat while I’m riding through the city. And that’s pretty weak, considering that the album had 16 tracks.

If production had really stepped up the to the plate, they could’ve gotten a couple of hits. It was no doubt that production was lacking and lazy as fuck throughout this entire project.

I’m not afraid to say that producers Metro Boomin’ and Southside, who were the primary producers on this project, need to step their shit up because it’s becoming redundant.

Shit is cool when you’re a new producer on the scene and you have this new sound that every artist wants to get on at the time. But, my words of advice to them are: PERFECT YOUR SHIT AND STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

PERFECT YOUR SHIT AND STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Click To Tweet

Father of 4 basically proves that Migos is better as a group right now. They’ve only released 3 albums collectively, and they need time to grow. We’ve had all three members Quavo, TakeOff, and Offset, step out solo and neither effort was well received by the public, including their die-hard fans.

I hope that they choose to go with a more diverse group of producers on their upcoming Culture III. But, this is the Migos I’m talking about. So, who knows?

The Xperience: This album has one hit out of 16 tracks. Good effort, but it fell short.