Quavo’s slowly returned to the fold since the unfortunate events that transpired in November 2022. Following the death of Takeoff, Quavo remained under the radar for the remainder of the year with the exception of his speech at his nephew’s funeral. However, his post-Infinity Links plans have begun to materialize when he released a tribute single to Takeoff, “WITHOUT YOU,” which he later performed at the Grammys as part of the In Memoriam segment.
Still, fans have wondered what the following plans were for Quavo, especially since the future of the remaining members of the Migos seemed uncertain. Prior to the release of Only Built For Infinity Links, Quavo confirmed that he was cooking up a solo album, though he hasn’t provided a concrete plan for its release. But, between the release of “WITHOUT YOU,” and his public outings, it seems like we could expect something for him soon.
Quavo Addresses Migos Future & Takeoff Death On “Greatness”
Quavo captured his sorrows on “WITHOUT YOU” but now showcases his resilience in his new single, “Greatness.” On Wednesday night, the Atlanta rapper hit the ‘Gram with a snippet of his latest single before unloading the song and visuals in its entirety. Quavo doesn’t disappoint on this one, sliding through with bars while his flows and ad-libs are reminiscent of early Migos cuts.
The record is an opportunity to get a few things off his chest. While Quavo pays his respect to Takeoff, he reflects on the importance of family and the struggles that he went through to be able to provide for his family. Elsewhere in the single, he addresses the future of the Migos following Takeoff’s passing and shows love to the Quality Control family. Check the single above.
Quotable Lyrics You remember them MCM backpacks? We was runnin’ around with them racks No Wock’, no Wock’, I ain’t never took Wock’ to Poland, I was drinking that Act’ Came in, swept the game like a storm with the motherfuckin’ flow, n***a, Take’ did that So don’t ask about the group, he gone, we gone, young n***a, it can’t come back
Offset denied the reports, but if these rumors are true, it doesn’t seem like Quavo and Offset will be making up anytime soon to revive the group. On his latest single, “Greatness,” Quavo offered a hint about the future of the group.
“Came in, swept the game like a storm with the motherf*ckin’ flow, Take’ did that / So don’t ask ’bout the group, he gone, we gone…it can’t come back,” raps Quavo in “Greatness.”
While it seems unlikely that we will get another Migos album, or that Quavo and Offset will continue Migos as a duo, Quavo appears to be proud of the impact the trio made throughout their career.
“This how legends was born, greatness / I couldn’t do it without the greatest group in the world, hmm, greatness,” Quavo raps on the song’s outro.
In the accompanying music video, Quavo is seen looking through photos and videos of the group, and reaping the fruits of their labor by way of driving in luxury vehicles and flashy jewelry.
In 2019, JT of the City Girls was released from prison after serving over a year of time for credit card fraud charges. They went back to work immediately, releasing “First Day Out” that day. Here’s how the MGX guys would describe their project, which documented that time:
Gill: Unapologetic creative expression. That project is saying that [even when] in the face of people criticizing and trying to take you [down], when people are unapologetically creative and not contrived, that’s something that truly inspires people. When you’re unapologetically you in doing you and people are uncomfortable—that’s the sh*t moves the needle for a lot of people, in this case, a lot of women, a lot of men too. And I think it’s important.
Image via MGX
Malikyar: One other thing to add to that too would be friendship and loyalty. It was cool to see the relationship between the two of them and how genuinely loyal they were and looked out for each other in the different roles they play in that friendship. Because I would hope everybody has a best friend or that figure in their life. I feel like they’re representative of that relationship for other people in their own way, of course. But that bond is still the same.
On Marshmello’s Projects
Image via Publicist
For the first few years of their career, while still in college, they worked to help further define Marshmello’s brand and tackle the question of ‘why is this silent sensation dominating our culture?’ Here’s how they would define what he illuminates:
Malikyar: I think humanity would be one and connectivity would be the other. And the reason why is the ethos behind the idea of Marshmallo is that we are all Marshmallo. He’s a character. It’s open for interpretation. It’s so global, everybody sees themself in Marshmalloe and you can beat anything. And it’s supposed to shed light on the fact that this character is a little piece of all of us. And it serves as a medium to express that idea. It’s almost like the superhero, the Batman, the whatever, you put on that helmet and you can be whoever you want to be type of thing. I don’t know if you have anything to add to that.
Image via MGX
Gill: His character doesn’t speak yet for some reason it’s cut through in all these different communities around the world, which all that says is that we’re a lot more connected as people than we all think. And I think what our music video series did was the goal of it was to create, and if you get time to watch any of them, one of them is about bullying, one about first love, one about your friends moving, one’s about problems you go through at home. These things that humans—whether you’re in India, the Philippines, Kentucky or Los Angeles—are experiencing. The connected aspect of the brand was really what we tried to do with these music videos. And what we tried to [have] people understand [is] that we’re all connected.
On Takeoff
Image via MGX
On Nov. 1, 2022, Takeoff was killed at the age of 28. The guys process, and reflect on their time with the Migos, then Unc & Phew, member:
Gill: It’s just really heartbreaking from the times that we worked with Takeoff, he was genuinely the nicest, most kind, thoughtful would stay after the shoot for hours to talk. I remember after one of the shoots, he stayed after an hour just to play [Culture II] for Daniel and I. And we were just like, “Wow, what a nice human being.” So through the documentary medium, you get to really connect with some of these artists in a vulnerable kind of human way that you can’t really if you’re shooting their music video or they’re in a commercial per se. We were able to get a lens into these artists’ world, and by no means did we have a 20-year relationship with them, but through these projects, we got to know them in a certain way and I guess the simplest way to put it is it’s just heartbreaking.
Malikyar: One other note, too, just reflecting on it, it just also shines a light on the fragility of everything.
On ‘Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby’
Image via Publicist
Over the course of 12 months, MGX Creative shadowed Lil Baby and told his story and those of many in his city. They process on what the project brought to light:
Gill: Socioeconomics and growth. Baby’s story illuminates a lot of the larger socioeconomic issues that our country is facing now and has been facing and the communities that exist because of that, that don’t ever get talked about. And people don’t ever take the time to actually understand, not from a baseline level, from a deeper mental, psychological level. The fact that doc about being mentally trapped because of where you’re from, have not seen that presented that way. The socioeconomic trap is not just a physical, monetary, literal trap; it’s also the mental world that America creates for certain communities. That’s the first part.
The second is growth; being able to see the power of growth in an artist in a person of color is so important to highlight because it’s going to allow other people of color and other individuals that may feel trapped to say, well if they can do it. Maybe I can do that. Maybe I won’t be the biggest rapper. Maybe I’ll be able to put myself through college. Or maybe I won’t be the biggest rapper. Maybe I’ll be able to go get a job at an insurance company. Whatever you’re thinking.
Fun Fact On ‘Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry Story’
The artist who turned rappers into Renaissance paintings for the trailer of Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry Story was an 18-year-old in Florence, Italy, with under 200 followers at the time.
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