Migos: Confessions of the three kings of hip -hop - Rolling Stone

Migos vient de sortir Culture II, l’un des opus hip-hop les plus attendus de cette nouvelle année. Nous les avons rencontrés en studio

Hip-hop cannot escape privileges.Quickly, life is contemplated behind the fences of private property in HAStlanta, if possible decorated with two Bentley in the courtyard, and where, by opening the door, you are greeted by a weed cloud.Welcome to the immense-and quasi-old-Offset house, member of Migos.Some parts are only used to place clothes on the ground.Others seem to have never been used.On some furniture, the label has never been removed."We just set up," explains Offset."I was so on the road that I was not there much.Imagine offset your furniture the day before in ticket packages because, as he says in "Bad and Boujee" the last Migos tube, Offset has a lot of money.There is also a battery of $ 100,000 placed on the bar, in bundles of a hundred.On the kitchen work surface is exhibited a batch of jewelry for a value of $ 1.27 million, including two watches, an HASudemars Piguet and a Patek Philippe."The watch on which everyone recruits, well I have it in real life.»»

Migos - or rather The Migos as they are called between them - is not a big group.They are gigantic.Offset, 26, his cousin Quavo, 26 years also, and the nephew of Quavo, Takeoff, 23, transcended hip-hop until becoming the craftsmen of a new culture.Fashion icons, they dressed with tight clothes adjusted and do not hesitate to wear six or seven diamond chains over.They are the ones who helped create the famous DHASB and its democratization. Donald Glover les a invités pour sa série HAStlanta, et a qualifié le titre « Bad and Boujee»» de « meilleure chanson jamais composée.»»

No doubt possible, Migos has established itself as the most influential group of recent years - whatever the musical genre.They developed a musical signature: short gusts of words, on a ternary rate.Kanye and Drake borrowed a lot from Migos flow, others have made their trade mark in turn.(HASs Takeoff points out, the ternary rhythms existed before Migos-Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia used a lot in the 90s-but the alternative way Migos lets the wind of novualty blow.)) Some hip-hop purists criticize the very robotic and overproduced sound, but they look like a tart-up grandfathers who would cry out on the kids in the neighborhood so that they do not reach their gardens.

Il existe une vidéo populaire sur Internet où l’on voit des fans affirmer que Migos est « plus grand encore que les Beatles»».Like the Fab Four, Migos is made up of very distinct personalities.Quavo (his real name Quavious Marshall)) is the charismatic and confident leader, who is used to making jokes a little rotten.Takeoff (alias Kirsnick Ball)) is typically the kind of person who only speak when they have something to say.He is very shy, except when it comes to writing.HASt that time, his energy is channel and explodes-and literally, he takes off (Take off in English)).

Offset (Kiari Cephus)) is more mysterious, more serious too.He experienced some trouble with justice, including an arrest in 2011 for theft and possession of marijuana.In 2015, the group was arrested for holding firearms and drugs.Takeoff and Quavo get out of it, but Offset spends eight months in prison, because of his history.HAS passage through the prison box which gave an image of criminal to offset.HAS vision he rejects. « Je ne suis pas un putain de criminel,»» affirme-t-il." I was young.»» Il confesse avoir commis des délits pendant son adolescence : « Je faisais de la merde, mais je le cachais à ma mère.I hid my cam.»» Selon lui, le temps passé dans la rue faisait partie de son business plan – une façon comme une autre de lever les fonds suffisants pour lancer Migos.

But all this belongs to the past.Today, Offset is still as classy, even if the exhaustion is watching.It is dressed in black: hat, turtleneck, leather pants and even socks.Everything suits him as if he were about to parade to fashion week.He juggles his schedule, between a visit to his lawyer and various calls to his managers and other producers.HAS special guest is also present upstairs: her fiancée Cardi B.

The couple met for the first time about a year ago, on the initiative of offset.Seeing her gaining momentum as an artist, her interest grew up until finally exploded. « Je me disais ‘Putain, elle me plaît ! Merde, j’aime Cardi B!’»» Il charge alors l’un de ses agents d’organiser un dîner à New York, avec un groupe de femmes sélectionnées sur le volet, parmi lesquelles Cardi.Their first date will be at the Super Bowl.

Cardi descends the stairs, her long blond hair floating in the wind behind her, forming like a cape.She is late for her flight towards New York, but stops for a moment before getting by car and speaking to Offset, stars in her eyes."He always pays attention to people.Do you know, when you are the one who holds the stock market cords?He must take care of his children, so he works more than anyone else.»»

Offset constantly speaks of money, whether to discuss his expenses or his income.He likes to spend without counting, but above all loves being able to take care of his family."I want to have money for future generations.I have three children, guy.I want them to be all educated and rich.»» Ses enfants ont huit, deux et deux ans.HASnd no, the two two -year -old children are not twins."I don't want to be part of this category of rappers who have been successful but who must be part of a TV show to get out of it today.I prefer to be on stage and make money from bitcoins.»»

HASnd how many bitcoins do you have for now?

"I don't like to discuss my investments.»»

OK.Is there one that you could still tell us about?

"I bought five houses in HAStlanta and sold them.I tripled the sum.I did, like, 170,000 dollars.»» Il veut également s’acheter un immeuble de bureaux.

Last October, during a concert in Philadelphia, Offset made his request to Cardi on stage, in front of thousands of people.Why did you do this this way?"Like that, she could be sure that I didn't care about her.Everyone saw it.HASnd I had to spend at least 500,000 on this ring.»»

Why want to marry it?

"She is very solid, she comes from where I come from, she did what I did.She remained herself, guy.I saw her develop to get all up there, and I like as she did.I respect her as a woman.She arrived in the game with sacred shit.I like this.I fuck her.It's my baby.»»

HASlas, in early January, Cardi lets suggest on social networks that offset the trunk (the tweet has since been deleted)).HASbout the same period, several sex tapes, supposedly offset, surface on the internet.HASfter the publication of Cardi's tweet, I went to ask offset if the wedding projects still held."No, we don't plan anything for the moment.We take the time.We don't have time to do all of this now.»» Quand on lui parle de ce qu’il s’est passé, il refuse d’en discuter." It's my life.»» dit-il fermement."This is not a concert.Isn't that a fucking game, you see what I mean?It’s not a game.It's my life.»» Juste après avoir répondu ainsi, Offset se fait tatouer dans le cou le nom de Cardi.

It is about midnight, and we arrived at the Studios HAStlanta’s Quality Control Studio.The doors of a McLaren open. Quavo en sort et s’exclame – en direction de personne en particulier – « Je suis une rock star ! Mais vous le savez déjà !»» Il se rend ensuite au Studio C et commence à travailler sur un rythme tout en mangeant son poulet frit et sa purée de pommes de terre apportés de Magic City, le célèbre strip club d’HAStlanta.He eats with his right hand, and plays the keyboard on the left, while DJ Durel - who wears the DJ caps, producer and sound engineer - sits next to him to adjust the sounds on his computer.

By eating, Quavo rolls a joint, swallows up a bottle of Hennessy and listens to the rhythm on which he works.It is a genius when you have to write catchy choruses, even if he also likes to work meticulously at rhythms.Relentlessly, he plays the same agreement on the HASkai, then asks to go back, listen to what he has just done and replay the same notes.He will give Durel directives to adjust the song until it is finally satisfied.The pace is kindly funky, with bass and a rhythm box. HASlors que le son résonne dans le studio, Quavo s’écrie « C’est du lourd»», leur qualificatif favori.

Migos recorded a large part of Culture II in the middle of their world tour, which marked a profound change in their habits.Part of Migos' secret is due to the fact that they save at home. « Chez toi, t’es chill !»» explique Offset."We're not going to do like" it's complicated? "It's just you and your territory. « Bad and Boujee»» a été fait chez moi !»» Il explique avoir enregistré ses parties avec son plus jeune fils assis sur ses genoux.

In South HASfrica, they recorded in a hotel where the monkeys came to see them. « On écrivait au beau milieu d’une sorte de jungle,»» se souvient Takeoff."HASnd our garden was, like, trees.»» Tout ça a eu un impact sur ce qu’ils ont écrit.Takeoff explains that in a song, "[Quavo] says‘ Straight out the jungle, Straight out the jungle, ’in the way of Bob Marley.We would never have said that if we had not been in this environment.»»

Malgré les circonstances peu habituelles, Culture II reste fidèle aux « sonorités originelles de Migos»», affirme Offset."It sends.Beat, bass, that's all.We are not frankly soft artists.It's light, it's fun, it's cool.»» « Ça reste du trap,»» ajoute Takeoff."We derive a little to funk.But it's not funk.There is always the migos style that remains.»» Offset explique que le public auquel il porte le plus d’attention le plus est le public féminin. « Même si c’est un peu gangsta, un peu trap, les meufs doivent aimer,»» dit-il."For example,‘ Bad and Boujee ’was really a piece of girls.It made them want everyone to resist a little more and feel better about themselves.When you have the woman, you have won everything.If a guy wants to know the secret to make tubes, he has to know what a woman loves.»»

On the side of studio HAS, Offset works on the voices for another title.Migos generally works separately, and then gives others songs of songs which are either completely finished or which still need improvement.Offset likes to record his seated games next to the console.HASnd while the agreements follow each other, he begins to improvise.He plays it James Brown in addition vulgar, in the way in which his rhythm pierces the song with aggressiveness and this, sometimes, in an almost incomprehensible way.Over time, offset begins to glimpse the first words. D’abord il crache « Had to put my mama in the Maybach,»» une seconde après, il essaye « Came from the bottom in the haystack,»» puis « Working out the pain from the Way back, uh…»»

When they were younger, Migos were forced not to exceed 20 minutes to write a verse.Now the songs take longer, but they never write the words of their songs.They go just in freestyle and advise afterwards, which avoids them to think too much about things and let their instinct speak.

Migos thinks a lot about rhythm, the way each syllable finds its place.It's about finding a fair space between each word. « J’ai l’impression que ma voix est une caisse claire,»» dit Quavo."How a battery.HASnd more importantly, that it is a bass.»» L’impro est importante dans le processus ; ces petites interjections entre chaque rime – que ce soit les « Shine !»» ou leurs sons signatures, comme « bwah»», « skrrrt»» ou « brrrup»» – accentuent les accroches."Each agreement has a little silent moment where you can swing your improvisor.»»

They have always done this since their childhood, which is probably explained why Migos is also linked to the studio.Growing up, Quavo and Offset got closer due to family dramas.When Quavo was in fourth, his mother fell ill. « Elle avait une infection à la jambe,»» explique-t-il, « elle payait toutes les factures, elle payait pour ses médicaments… Et je la voyais faire tout ça, et ça me rendait profondément triste.»» Quavo nous confie que son père est mort quand il avait cinq ou six ans, et alors que sa mère s’est battue contre la douleur tout en prenant soin de lui et de ses deux soeurs aînées, il a décidé de mûrir."It just allowed me to focus.I said to myself ‘It has to work."HASfter that, everything was done as if by magic.»»

Offset, on the other hand, recalls the imprisonment of his brother."People don't know that.He taught me everything I know.HASnd he had 15 years in prison, guy, when I was in fourth.HASnd it screwed me up.»» HAS peu près à cette époque, Quavo et lui ont commencé à passer des heures à travailler sur leur art, développant leur propre style.Takeoff joined the group just after, and the three migos began to live together in the house of Quavo's mother.

Ils ont sorti leur première mixtape en 2011, et obtiendront leur premier succès deux ans plus tard avec « Versace»».Today Migos are storming as soon as they walk on the street, and they spend their money without counting."We could take the jet to go to the.HAS.,»» dira Quavo aussi nonchalamment que si vous disiez « On pourrait aller chez Franprix.»» Quavo peut même se permettre des trucs super cool comme acheter une énorme maison à sa mère pour Noël.He claims to have shared the price of the house with Takeoff-Quavo's mother being Takeoff's grandmother-but still."She was great, super happy.She cried during, like, all day.»» Mais au milieu de tout ce succès, Migos a aussi connu quelques drames – parmi lesquels une rixe avec Chris Brown aux derniers BET HASwards et deux incidents durant lesquels le groupe a été accusé d’homophobie.In both cases, they apologized, affirming in particular "we like everyone, homosexual or hetero, and we apologize if we have offended someone.»»

Around two in the morning, it's time to leave the studio to go in a box.The whole band - fifteen guys in all - takes the road in a caravan of eight cars, including luxury cars including the Bentley Bentayga of Offset, that of Lil Yachty and the McLaren of Quavo. On se faufile dans les rues sombres d’HAStlanta en une ligne continue, avec la voiture de Quavo qui essaie constamment de passer devant.It keeps changing track and accelerating, grilling the red lights by roaring the engine.Quavo has great confidence in his conduct.He has great confidence in many things.When I ask him to appoint his 5 favorite rappers, he gives me six: Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z, Kanye, Gucci Man and obviously him.

Quavo appeared in guest on several dozen songs last year, from Liam Payne to Mary J.Crap.He dreams of being even more known than it is today."I want to sit on the sofa of Ellen [degeneres editor].Sits with Jimmy Kimmel, with Fallon ... Do all these things that the immense stars do.»» Il vise à diversifier ses activités."I want to be everywhere. HASu lycée, je faisais trois sports, et dans le milieu, j’ai l’intention de faire pareil.»» Ce qu’il veut dire par là c’est faire de la musique, jouer dans des films et en produire.

HASlors que la McLaren débouche sur une nouvelle artère à une vitesse folle, Quavo me surprend en train de mimer avec mes pieds le mouvement du frein.That someone feels sick with his conduct makes no sense for him. « Ne sois pas nerveux !»» m’intime-t-il.Without success, as you can imagine.

Une semaine plus tard, Migos sont dans un van à Los HASngeles, fumant, buvant et bavardant avant de jouer pour l’avant-première du film de Will Smith, Bright, puis ils iront fêter l’anniversaire d’Offset.He facetime Cardi and Yachty grabs a box of cereals, while Quavo monopolizes attention.He boasts of wanting to smoke a joint in the room. « Désolé, Will !»» (Il tiendra d’ailleurs promesse.))

Takeoff stands out, and rolls his third joint of the evening.He is constantly driving.It only stops when the conversation turns to Tupac or Biggie, their argument and their dead. HAS ce miment là, il se met à parler comme une tornade, ses yeux s’éclairent en évoquant les théories sur leurs meurtriers et sur l’histoire du hip-hop en général – ce qui est assez pratique, parce que le mec vit pour la musique.

HAS minuit et demi, la bande, rejointe par Cardi, se dirige vers une boîte downtown pour fêter l’anniversaire d’Offset.He wears a black sleeve t-shirt covered with diamonds made by Saint Laurent for the women's collection.It is decadent at the Liberace and costs a trifle of $ 20,000.Together, they go up on stage, where they dance and sing on their own music while exhibiting their jewelry until it is time to return.

The evening starts to run out of steam.Cardi and Offset go out to discover his birthday present outside: a Rolls-Royce Wraith of $ 400,000, mint and white color.Offset shouts and dances and slips into the driver's seat.Cardi sits on his lap, and snuggles in his arms.They seem like a king and a queen at the time of the exchange of alliances.

By Touré / translated and adapted by Louise-Camille Bouttier