Oct 21

Oct 21 A Review of Quavo's "QUAVO HUNCHO"

QUAVO! The Migos head huncho Quavo, looks to impress us with his debut solo album "QUAVO HUNCHO." In 2017 we got a taste of what The Migos could do separately when Quavo released a joint project with Travis Scott titled "Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho" and Offset teamed up with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin to create "Without Warning." Now with "QUAVO HUNCHO," Quavo looks to build on what people could expect from him as a solo artist. Quavo released the three singles, all of which we will see on the album titled "WORKIN ME," "BUBBLE GUM" and "LAMB TALK" in early August. Out of the three, "WORKIN ME" was the most successful single, peaking at #52 on the Billboard charts in early September. The release of these singles was then followed by the announcement of the album on The Angie Martinez Show in late August. Now, let's take a look at the track list! "QUAVO HUNCHO" is comprised of 19 songs with 12 features spread out over the course of 10 songs. 21 Savage, Drake, Saweetie, Madonna, Cardi B, Takeoff, Offset, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Normani, DaVido, and Kid Cudi are all featured on Quavo's album. With most of the songs on this album having a feature on this album, it's hard for me to see how Quavo will set himself apart as a solo artist when there isn't much of an emphasis on solo Quavo songs. It will be interesting to see how this album follows through. Now, without further ado, let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review 👂🏾

Scale

Per song

+.5 for beat selection

+.5 for flow

+.5 for content/impact

+.5 for hit value

Points will be taken off for:

Fatigue in listening

Lack of diversity in beats

Raw Score: The amount of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.

Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.

Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.

BIGGEST ALLEY OOP

The song starts off with beautiful harmonizing over a bass guitar beat before the electronic bass with the flute sound drops. Towards the end of the first verse we hear Quavo use an "Aye" flow but instead of "Aye" he ends with "uh."

"Lil' bitch (uh), hop on the stick, uh (hop on the stick)

Grant your wish, uh (woo), came for licks, uh (licks)

We came to hit, uh (hit), who that bitch? uh (who?)

Poppin' shit, uh (who?), let it rip, uh (who? raow)"

I love the calm vibe of this beat and as always, Quavo is stuntin with his flow.

PASS OUT (ft. 21 Savage)

The song starts with a news clip of a child finding some money on the street. I don't like the choppiness in Quavo's flow on the hook of this song, the first verse however, is solid. 21 Savage's flow works on this, soft bass, and medium paced beat. The third verse doesn't add much to this song but, it doesn't hurt the song either. Overall a Solid song.

+.5

HUNCHO DREAMS

On this song we get what appears to be a response to the Nicki Minaj "diss" song, "Barbie Dreams" where Nicki roasts all of her industry friends. Nicki references Quavo when she raps,

"Somebody go and make sure Karrueche okay though

I heard she think I'm tryna give the coochie to Quavo"

This references Karrueche, who Quavo was once rumored to be dating and also talks about how Nicki would fuck Quavo. On "HUNCHO DREAMS," Quavo tells the listener he's referencing Nicki Minaj with the line

"She said I hurt her feelings 52 times (Two)

Call up queen (Nicki)."

Quavo then proceeds to insinuate that he and Nicki Minaj did do something with the lines,

"No "FEFE," I skeet-skeet ("FEFE") on yo' face ass (Face ass, brrt-brrt)

Called up Huncho to come tap that ass (Swear)"

Quavo then goes on to apologize to Nicki in the hook before we get the outro of the track where Quavo says "This all fun and games, right," which could mean, the scenario in the song isn't true. Overall, the content, flow, calm lagging bass beat come together to make a good song. The skit at the beginning also adds to the song because of the relevance.

+1.5

FLIP THE SWITCH (ft. Drake)

The flute, calm bass heavy beat sets a high pace to the song that both Drake and Quavo came prepared to kill. The high paced flows and the beat come together well to create a quality song.

GIVE IT TO EM (ft. Saweetie)

Another calm beat with less emphasis on the high hats than in previous songs. There's very little emphasis on the beat in general with the bass and piano having a faint presence as well. Saweetie doesn't have much of a role on this song except for the three lines where she raps,

"I be geekin' (Geekin', geekin')

I be eatin' (Eat it up, eat it up)

Break a solid nigga (Break 'em)

Into pieces (Yeah, yeah, yeah)"

Overall a solid beat and flow contribute to a solid song.

SHINE

"Tay Keith Fuck These Niggas Up!" The trend of calm beats continues with this Tay Keith beat comprised of high hats, a mellow bass, a high-pitched percussion in the background and a nice bass line. Not much to say about content on this song but the flow is once again on point.

WORKIN ME

One of the singles that's defined by the heavy mid-fast paced bass, whistle and flute beat with Quavo harmonizing in the background. The hook really stands out on this song because of it's catchy but not tiring nature. Combined with Quavo's flow this is another solid song.

HOW BOUT THAT?

The distortment in the lagging bass during the hook with the distinctive high paced high hats contribute to another calm beat on this album. There isn't a stand out lyric on this track for me however, once again Quavo and a good flow once again prove to be synonymous with each other.

CHAMPAGNE ROSÉ (ft. Madonna and Cardi B)

An interesting concept, as Madonna and Cardi B are featured on this song. The hook on this song runs a little long for me as we hear the hook three times with four short verses. This beat gives a desert feel with the type of high hat, flutes and drums on this beat. Overall with o e of the biggest artists ever in Madonna and two of the hottest artists out right now (Quavo and Cardi B) I expected more out of this song.

KEEP THAT SHIT (ft. Takeoff)

This is another beat the places emphasis on the rappers spitting. The heavy bass and Quavo harmonizing are about the only sounds that stand out. There's a faint high hat in the background. I would have liked to see longer verses from both artists on a beat like this. Takeoff's flow stands out on this song however.

FUCK 12 (ft. Offset)

This song starts off with a snippet from a Malcolm X (R.I.P.) speech. The hook on this verse is very catchy because it's just Quavo rapping "Fuck 12" 46 times with Offset adlibbing. This hook has great flow and can remind the listener of a typical "YG" hook that repeats a phrase over and over again in a matter that isn't tiring to the listener such as "Who Do You Love." Overall, I could do without the first verse because it contributes nothing to the overall theme of the song. The Offset verse along with Quavo's second verse contribute to the theme of "Fuck 12 (the cops)" as they talk about the general idea of black people getting harassed by the cops simply because of their appearance.

Overall, the content, flow and background beat combine to deliver a message from the Migos..."Fuck 12."

+1.5

LOSE IT (ft. Lil Baby)

Another calm beat, this time with an emphasis on the high hats and the bass takes a backseat. Lil Baby stands out by far on this track. Quavo's slow flow can lull the listener to sleep, then Lil Baby comes in with the fast flow as a nice contrast. Overall, the beat works, but Quavo's flow can be a bit of a turn off.

+.5

RERUN (ft. Travis Scott)

This such a different sound from the first 12 tracks on this album. The distorted Quavo autotuned voice with regular Travis autotuned voice provides a more upbeat sound. On this song it's clear the intention was to place an emphasis on the voices of both artists. The Travis Scott bridge before both artists come back in with the vocals works well with this song.

+1.5

GO ALL THE WAY

This beat sounds like a video game soundtrack. With that being said, the beat can drown out Quavo's voice at times, especially with the bass in the beat. The change in autotuned from Quavo makes him sound like a robot which is a bit of a turn off. Overall, the beat doesn't work well with Quavo until he changes into his robotic autotuned voice, making this song a throw away.

+.5

LAMB TALK

One of the three singles, Quavo had dropped before the announcement of this album. A calm beat with an apparent bass, high hats and Quavo harmonizing in the background. This is the fastest Quavo has rapped on this project thus far. Overall, a solid single

BIG BRO

A slow jam made by a slow bass and slow high hat. On this song we hear Quavo singing about being a mentor. We get a small skit between the second and third verse,

"Tsh, it's a young nigga calling my phone (Ahh)

What's happening?

Hey big bro, them niggas just got me for my chain (Ahh)

What?

Them niggas just set me up big brother

They just got me for my chain (Ahh)

Aw man (Ahh)

Damn (Ahh)

Ay, ay, calm down, calm down, we gon' get it back (Ahh)

Just pull up on me, tell me what happened (Ahh)"

Here Quavo is stepping in to be a big brother to the young man who called him asking for help. Overall, the pace of this song is a nice revert to some of the earlier songs on this album.

SWING (ft. Normani & DaVido)

This song starts with a bass guitar and electronic guitar rifts before the dancehall beat comes in with the steady bass. All three verses come together in harmony to create this beautiful song.

+1.5

BUBBLE GUM

The last of the three singles on this album. On this song we get a higher paced bass and high hats along with an autotuned Quavo.

LOST (ft. Kid Cudi)

A slow song to end the album. The beat is a high hat emphasized beat with a slow bass. The Kid Cudi verse isn't one that stands out as something extraordinary, however it's not a trash verse either. During the third verse of the song, we get a synthesizer as added to the beat. The song ends with Quavo using that robot voice we hear on "GO ALL THE WAY." Overall, this is a solid song to end the album on.

Raw Score: 16/19

Quality Score: 19.5/19

Playback value: 2/5

Overall, this is an average album in the realm of hip-hop. The second half of this album is better than the first half. On the first half we get a consistent calm, slow vibe where as on the second half we get more variety sonically as well as in terms of pace and overall feel. The songs were relatively short, so there wasn't much of the Migos fatigue factor on this album.

My stand out songs on this album are "RERUN" featuring Travis Scott, "BIG BRO" and "SWING" featuring Normani and DaVido. There wasn't anything new Quavo did on this album that we haven't seen him do in the past, he rapped, he sung, he harmonized, and he adlibbed. While all of these things were done well, they don't put him on a new tier of hip-hop. Go stream Quavo's "QUAVO HUNCHO" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OLDMLK.com on Instagram @OLDMLK and let us know what you think of the album!