★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ Rating: 6 out of 10
Offset, one-third of Atlanta rap group Migos follows in the footsteps of his group members to release his first solo album, Father of 4. The release was originally expected in December but with his highly publicized separation from Cardi B, the album took a back seat. Despite a late release and Offsets personal issues, Father of 4 delivers the familiar adlib-filled, trap style Migos is well known for while allowing a limited introspection into his life and struggles. Stacked with features from Quavo, Gunna, CeeLo Green, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Cardi B and Gucci Mane, Offset continues to deliver his stories in a highly lyrical manner. He raps in his signature cadence, rhythmic in the same way a heartbeat has rhythm, strong and consistent. Offset has the strongest rapping style from any of the Migos members and in this solo project, he is given a chance to shine.
In the opening song of the album, Father of 4, Offset shares an open letter to his children. He names each one individually, explaining his shortcomings as a father and promising to be better. He continues to express his love for his children prefacing the album with the idea that they are the driving force behind his rapping. Offsets love for his children is evident not only in this song but throughout the album. I mean, that’s if you couldn’t figure that out from the title and album cover already.
This album, from my perspective, is not only an ode to his children but an ode to rap music and the money that Offset has made from it. Money is at the centre of almost every song on this album and this new-found wealth has given Offset plenty of financial freedom. The songs Underrated, Tats on My Face and On Fleek featuring Quavo are filled with flexes of his luxurious cars, iced out jewellery and quarter million dollar watches, in fact, the song Quarter Milli featuring Gucci Mane is devoted to it. Despite his constant flexing of wealth Offset acknowledges that it wasn’t always this way. He speaks on his life before the money in the song How Did I Get Here featuring J.Cole. It is an autobiographical song about Offsets life before fame. He shares how rap music was able to help bring him out of poverty and crime, grateful for the opportunity at another life.
If this album has taught me anything about Offset it is that he loves three things. The first two I have already mentioned are his children and money, the third is his wife, Cardi B. He discusses this his love for her in depth on the song Don’t Lose Me. It begins with the audio from his famous video apology to Cardi B which surfaced after their separation. The song is a profession love for Cardi and details parts of their relationship from the engagement to their separation. It’s a really sweet moment on the album and shows a vulnerability in Offset. This vulnerability is similar to what has been seen in both the apology video and onstage ambush at Rolling Loud. A particularly heart-tugging line on the song is about his daughter Kulture, he says “KK all beauty, when I’m lookin’ down at her it’s you and me”. Offsets love for his children and wife are unparalleled and provide my favourite narrative on this album. It exposes Offset in a much different light to that of his Migos persona and I hope it continues to be a theme in his upcoming music.
This album successfully showcases Offsets distinct rapping style which is melodic and rhythmic in its delivery, providing depth and adding layers to the beat of each song. His strong individual style and nuanced understanding of self makes this album well worth at least a second listen. There are more highs than lows to this album but there is still a long way to go until Offset, or any of the Migos for that matter, successfully develops their own musical identity. It is by far the best solo release from a Migo to date but it is not without a lack of true unbridled individualism that each of their releases has suffered, proving they are still stronger together.
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