Culture II, then, should be Migos’s triumphant victory lap: an album that establishes another year of their inescapable dominance in the streaming era. But, while it’s an ambitious swing, the 24-track project lacks the commanding relevancy of its predecessor, pushing Migos’s time-honored formula to its breaking point. The album’s opener, “Higher We Go (Intro),” produced by Metro Boomin and Quavo, who serves as executive producer along with DJ Durel, lays out this predictable format: Quavo verse, Takeoff verse, Offset verse and a hook sporadically in between. But the cohesion that once allowed Migos to seamlessly finish each other’s ad-libs now sounds disjointed, as each distinct member searches for the chance to fully realize their voice on each track.

Boy bands often go through the phase — normally towards the end of their run — where the member that is positioned to be the solo star takes on an outsized role. Much of Culture II feels like a Quavo solo project with Offset and Takeoff merely backing him up. Quavo-centric tracks like “Auto Pilot (Huncho On the Beat)” feel out of place on the project, as Quavo’s more rudimentary production takes away from the polish. There are instances where the format changes and we get two of them paired off on a track, like the moody Murda Beatz produced “Gang Gang,” but they’re too few and far between. “Movin Too Fast,” Quavo’s only solo production credit on the album, provides an infrequent chorus break for Quavo in favor of the equally capable Offset and leaves the listener craving more disruption to the usual blueprint.

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Amidst the Quavo overload, Takeoff still emerges as the breakout star of the album. On the FKI-produced “Notice Me,” which features a seemingly leftover Post Malone chorus, Takeoff delivers one of Culture II’s strongest verses, as he patiently keeps pace with the drowsy beat before suddenly diving into the triplet flow that he’s always been the best at employing (“Sippin a tea, packin the heat, niggas that lookin for me”). He then leads the way on “Made Men” — which feels like an introduction despite it being the twenty-second track — and the trio rap in a reflective tone that feels as if, in their minds, they’ve already reached rap’s ceiling. In a recent interview with Ebro Darden on Beats 1, Quavo confirmed what a passionate subset of fans has been repeating for some time. “To me, he’s the best one out of all us,” he said, referring to Takeoff, while Offset confirmed that the youngest member of the group is also the hometown favorite. In the context of this acknowledgement, Culture II listens as Quavo’s last stand as the group’s lead before, perhaps, fading into the background to make way for more solo material from Offset and Takeoff. Clearly, the demand is there.