Atlanta’s Migos dominated in the early months of 2017, capitalizing on the lingering success of mammoth single “Bad and Boujee” with their second studio album, Culture. It was a precise, fizzy trap record that led with its club-dominating, car speaker-rupturing hits like ”T-Shirt,” “Call Casting,” and “Get Right Witcha,” then dug deeper into itself as it progressed. It’s Noisey’s 13th-favorite album of the year, and the trio have as good a claim as anyone to setting the tone for the year’s rap releases. But for all of Culture’s merits, it didn’t offer too much beyond a singular sound. It was big, but steady. If you liked “Bad and Boujee,” you’d have been into “Big on Big.” And as the year progressed, Migos didn’t show an interest in tinkering with their sound. “Motor Sport” came and went, stacked with ad-libs and minimal trap beats; that Quality Control release offered a little more of the same.
But “Stir Fry,” released this morning, is something new. It’s produced by Pharrell, so the beat buzzes a little, some kitschy synths pushing the sound further from Zaytoven’s occasionally ominous trademark. All three Migos are on form. Quavo get to sing the hook, and it’s catchy. Takeoff doesn’t dominate the track, but he reels off a few fun lines. Like, “Takeoff, I’m the bird keeper, let the birds fly / Why’s tryna take my prize? / You a dead guy.”
Videos by VICE
Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising that, after all of the pop collaborations they’ve hopped on this year (good and bad), Migos are flirting with new ideas in their own music. Either way, it’s a sign of something interesting in advance of Culture 2. Listen to “Stir Fry” at the top of the page.
Follow Alex Robert Ross on Twitter.
