Review: On Culture II, Migos take excess to new extremes

With A-list guests and superproducers on board, Migos' Culture II is an extravagant affair.

Excess. Migos don't just love it, it's in their DNA. "Clear white diamonds make your eyesight blurry," raps Takeoff on a song called, yep, Too Much Jewelry.

It's followed by a heavily autotuned Quavo singing the hilarious hook: "Excuse me / I have on too much jewellery."

Too much? You can't blame them for bragging. It was just a year ago the Georgian trio of Offset, Takeoff and Quavo changed hip-hop with Culture, their blinged-out trap party full of three-word quotables and bona fide rap anthems.

The follow-up could have been anything the Atlanta scene-stealers wanted it to be. But here's what it shouldn't have been: 105 minutes long.

At 24 tracks, Culture II could be one of the longest, most obviously Spotify-baiting hip-hop albums ever made.

It sure is excessive though. Culture II gleams with A-list bling, from Drake's great guest spot on the otherwise plodding Walk the Talk to Nicki Minaj and Cardi B giving MotorSport a reason to exist, 21 Savage's monotonous grind on BBO and 2 Chainz overselling the porno trumpets of Too Playa.

Some of those guest spots are the best things about Culture II, an album which is impossible to devour in one sitting - especially when it kicks off two absolute stinkers in Higher We Go and Supastars.

Filler? There are so many "brrts" and "skrrts" here you might start thinking you're stuck inside a bird enclosure.

But fight your way through the excess and there are enough highlights to prove that there's a genuinely decent follow-up to Culture sitting here, waiting for some editing.

Try the excellently menacing thud of Narcos that suggests Migos have been bingeing on Netflix. Or Auto Pilot (Huncho on the Beat), which has the three riding high over excellently glitchy sonics. And Stir Fry is this album's Bad and Boujee, with Pharrell in the kitchen cooking up an instant classic.

That track also proves Takeoff is the trio's most important rapper, his twisted wordplay and manic energy proving this amigo has the best chance of a lengthy solo career. As long as he employs a decent editor first.

Migos - Culture II
Label: Quality Control
Stars: Three
Verdict: Migos cook up an extravagant feast.