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The Migos are one of the most iconic hip-hop groups of the modern trap era. With classic records like Bad and Boujee, Walk It Talk It, and Fight Night, the Migos have established themselves as certified hitmakers who have carved their own lane in hip hop.
I’ve been listening to the Migos since 2013, when they dropped their first viral hits like Versace and Bando, and I’ve been following them ever since.
My favorite Migos project has to be Culture because it’s their most cohesive and captures the zeitgeist of music at that time. The Migos have had a meteoric rise to fame, but it hasn’t all been easy. Here is a look at the rise and fall of Atlanta’s most enigmatic trio -the Migos.
Who Are the Migos?
The Migos is a southern rap group comprised of Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff. They are all related and raised by Quavo’s mother, Edna Marshall, together in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Taking inspiration from other southern rap groups like Outkast and the Hot Boys, they decided to form their own collective and start rapping together.
They formed the group in 2008 under the name “the Polo Club” but later changed the name to Migos – a shortened version of the Spanish word for friends’ “amigos” and a term for an abandoned house where drugs are sold.
Quavo
Quavious Keyate Marshall, aka Quavo, is the oldest Migo, Takeoff’s uncle, and Offset’s cousin. Quavo played starting quarterback on his high school football team at Berkmar High and once made school records by completing 28 passes in a game his senior year. But despite his impressive football record, he dropped out of high school just months before graduating.
Quavo is often called the breakout star of the group. He’s the most comfortable experimenting with melodies and tends to do the most features of any of the Migos.
He dropped an entire collaborative tape with Travis Scott in 2017 called Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho, and a solo record called Quavo Huncho in 2018. He is also part-owner of the FCF Glacier Boyz, an indoor football team founded in 2020.
Offset
Kiari Kendrell Cephus is the middle Migo and is Quavo’s cousin (who is Takeoff’s uncle). At nine years old, Offset worked as a backup dancer in the video for Whatchulookinat by Whitney Houston. Dancing was his original passion, but he eventually gave it up to focus on his rap career.
Although early on, Quavo was labeled the star of the Migos, Offset has proven his consistency and is considered by many to be the most lyrical. He’s also part of one of hip hop’s biggest power couples and has an on-again, off-again relationship with Cardi B.
The two started dating in 2017 and were married later that same year. But he’s had frequent cheating scandals that have caused her to leave him several times, only to return later. They have two children together, Kulture Kiari Cephus and Wave Set Cephus.
Offset also released a collaborative project with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin called Without Warning in 2017 and a solo album called Father of 4 in 2019.
Takeoff
Kirshnik Khari Ball, aka Takeoff, is the nephew of Quavo and Offset’s first cousin once removed. Even though there is technically a generation between them, Quavo is only three years older than Takeoff, and they were all raised together like brothers.
Takeoff is the most laidback member of the Migos. He isn’t in the public eye as much as the other two Migos and doesn’t do as many features with other artists. But, many have praised his technical ability and believe he’s the most consistent member of the Migos.
He released his own solo album, The Last Rocket, in 2018, which featured the billboard charting single Last Memory.
Migos Professional History
Early Days
The Migos released their debut mixtape Juug Season in August 2011. They followed up with the project No Label the following year, which featured the track, Bando.
The video for Bando became a viral hit on YouTube and helped the Migos build a fanbase online. Around the same time, the group signed a deal with the newly formed Quality Control Records, aka QC, a label created by Gucci Mane’s former manager Kevin “Coach K” Lee, and his business partner Pierre “P” Thomas.
In 2013, they dropped the hit single Versace, a Zaytoven-produced banger that Drake later remixed.
The Drake cosign helped catapult the Migos into the mainstream and positioned them as one of the groups defining the new Atlanta trap sound. Versace is still a modern-day trap classic and remains one of my favorite songs by the Migos.
YRN
They quickly followed up the success of Versace by dropping a mixtape called YRN (Young Rich N*****). The mixtape featured other Migos classics like Hannah Montana, Dennis Rodman featuring Gucci Mane, and Jumping Out the Gym featuring Riff Raff and Trinidad James.
YRN was the first Migos mixtape I ever heard, and it still remains one of my favorites because of how fresh and interesting their sound was at the time. The Migos were well on their way to becoming a household name, and Versace was listed as one of the year’s best songs by several publications.
In 2014, they followed up with the project No Label 2, which featured the hit Fight Night. Fight Night peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group’s highest-charting single at the time.
Fight Night solidified the Migos as more than a one-hit-wonder and furthered the group’s ascent to the rap game’s top. Fight Night is another certified classic that made me realize that the Migos were more than just viral meme rappers and had a real ability to craft catchy melodies and hooks.
The Migos continued to grind and dropped another mixtape called Rich N**** Timeline later that year. It featured production from Zaytoven, Murda Beats, and Phenom Da Don and was named by Rolling Stone as the 7th best rap album in 2014. They also dropped collaborative mixtapes with Rich the Kid and Gucci Mane.
Georgia Southern Incident
In 2015, the Migos got into legal trouble after they showed up late to a performance at Georgia Southern University and performed for less than 30 of the scheduled 45-minute set. They were arrested following the performance after law enforcement smelled marijuana and searched their van.
The group and 12 members of their entourage were hit with drug and gun possession charges and taken into custody. Quavo and Takeoff were able to post bail, but Offset was denied a bond due to his past criminal record. While in custody, he was hit with another charge for battery and inciting a riot, but he eventually accepted a plea agreement and was released in December.
Yung Rich Nation
But the Migos bounced right back and kept delivering hits. They dropped their debut album Yung Rich Nation in 2015 while Offset was still locked up, which featured the singles Pipe It Up and One Time. The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and sold 18,000 units in the first week.
Later that same year, they dropped the mixtape Back to the Bando, which featured the track Look at My Dab. The song was another breakout hit and helped to popularize the dabbing dance craze, which allowed the Migos to go viral once again.
They also made their acting debut in 2016 on the first season of Donald Glover’s Atlanta, where they played fictionalized versions of themselves. Atlanta is one of my all-time favorite shows, and the Migos appearance proved that they had acting chops as well as musical ability.
Culture
In October 2016, they dropped the song Bad and Boujee, the first single off their upcoming album Culture. The song was produced by Atlanta super producer Metro Boomin and featured a guest appearance from Lil Uzi Vert.
Bad and Boujee shot to number one, becoming the Migo’s highest-charting song to date. The track became an internet sensation, spawning countless memes with the line “rain drop, drop top.” It remained in the top 10 for 14 consecutive weeks and earned the group a Grammy nomination for best rap performance.
Despite its viral success, Bad and Boujee aren’t one of my favorite Migos songs, although I do respect it as a cultural landmark. Personally, my favorite track from Culture is T-shirt because of the spacey production and unique melodies.
They followed up the success of Bad and Boujie by dropping their second studio album, Culture, in January 2017.
Culture featured appearances from Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and DJ Khaled and spawned two additional singles, T-Shirt and Slippery. Culture received positive reviews from fans and critics who complimented the Migo’s ability to continue to innovate their sound while staying true to their roots.
Culture is my favorite Migos album because it’s their most focused and cohesive. It proved that the Migos could deliver a well-developed body of work and not just a collection of viral singles and helped propel Migos to the very top of the music industry.
That same year the Migos appeared on tracks alongside big names like Katy Perry and Lil Yachty and contributed to the QC label compilation Control the Streets: Vol 1.
Culture II
They didn’t wait long to announce their next project, Culture II, and released the lead single, MotorSport, featuring Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, in October 2017. The album came out in January 2018 and contained three more singles Stir Fry, Walk It Talk It featuring Drake and Narcos.
While some of the highlights of Culture II were on par with the first installment, many fans complained that the album felt bloated, and their sound was starting to get repetitive. But it still did well commercially and debuted at number one on Billboard.
While I liked many songs on Culture II, I do think the first installment of the series was more cohesive and unique.
After that, the group took a break to focus on their own solo projects, which were released one after the other in 2018 and early 2019. They announced a third installment of the Culture series in 2019, but it was delayed several times.
Culture III
In 2020, they got into a dispute with their label QC and sued their former lawyer Damien Granderson for conflict of interest. Granderson also represented the label as well as the group. So, the Migos sued him for allegedly advising them to sign a contract heavily favoring the label, cheating them out of millions of dollars. But they eventually worked things out with QC and dropped the lawsuit later that year.
Culture III was delayed again due to the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented them from doing a proper rollout and supporting tour.
The album was finally released in June 2021 and featured guest appearances from Drake, Cardi B, Future, Justin Bieber, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, and NBA Youngboy. It also produced two singles, Need It and Straightening. The album debuted at number 2 on Billboard and received generally positive reviews from fans and critics.
By this point, the Migos were no longer in their prime but proved that they could still come together to release a solid project.
Migos Break Up?
In 2022, rumors started circulating that the Migos may be calling it quits. In May, fans noticed that Offset and his wife Cardi B had unfollowed Takeoff and Offset on Instagram. Not long after that, Quavo and Takeoff announced that they were starting their own group called Unc & Phew (a reference to their familial status).
They then dropped a single under this new group called Hotel Lobby which featured a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired video. While I enjoyed the Hotel Lobby video, I felt like something was missing without a feature from Offset.
The group only added fuel to the rumors after announcing that they were canceling their performance at Governor’s Ball in New York and being replaced by Lil Wayne. Fans automatically assumed the cancellation was a result of the group’s breakup.
But a rep for the Migos claimed they had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict because Quavo would be busy shooting a movie. The rep denied the rumors of a breakup, but fans are still not convinced. As of now, the Migos have not announced any new singles or projects. So, fans will just have to wait and see whether or not the rumors are true.
Despite the ups and downs they’ve experienced throughout their career, the Migos have established themselves as one of the most iconic groups in modern rap history. They helped define the sound of the Atlanta trap wave of the late 2010s and set themselves apart from their contemporaries by being highly entertaining and never taking themselves too seriously.
Even if the group never releases another album, they’ve still cemented a place in rap history and have a solid catalog of hits that have lasted the test of time.
Migos Group History: FAQs
Answer: The Migos are not brothers, although they are all related. Quavo is Offset’s cousin and Takeoff’s uncle, which makes Takeoff Offset’s cousin once removed. Despite the generational differences, they are all around the same age and were raised together by Quavo’s mother, Edna Marshall.
Answer: Yes, the Migos are still a group. However, there have been rumors that they may have broken up. Offset and Cardi B both unfollowed Quavo and Takeoff on social media, leading to speculation that there may be tension within the group.
Others have suggested that it was just a publicity stunt to build hype for Quavo and Takeoff’s new group Unc and Phew. They have not officially announced a breakup yet, although they haven’t announced any new music as a group either.
Answer: The Migos grew up in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a suburb in Gwinnet County located about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta.
The Migos are often considered a part of the Atlanta trap wave that dominated hip hop in the late 2010s, but technically they are not from the city of Atlanta. However, they are affiliated with many Atlanta hip-hop pioneers such as Gucci Mane and Coach K.