After securing the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 with the Lil Uzi Vert-assisted “Bad and Boujee” earlier this month, Migos has hit the top of the Billboard 200 with its sophomore studio effort, Culture (released Jan. 27 through Quality Control/300 Entertainment), marking the trio’s first No. 1 on the list. The album earned 131,000 equivalent album units in its first week.
Two days before the official numbers came in, the Atlanta rappers considered what having a No. 1 album would mean to them. “It would mean everything, but with everything in the world, hard work pays off,” said Quavo on the red carpet before their performance at the New Era “Planet New Era” party on Friday (Feb. 3) at VRSI nightclub. “We speaking for the young generation, we speaking for the young generation of music.” Added Offset: “The Culture wave, we speaking for the youth.”
Migos’ 2015 debut, Yung Rich Nation, peaked at No. 17 and moved 18,000 copies in its first week. The key difference this time around, the group says, was capitalizing on their trend-setting abilities. “We took our time with it,” continued Offset. “We gave you the point. It’s points that’s given [on the album] that’s already should have been pointed out that we pointed out about ourselves, leading the trend of music.”
During Super Bowl weekend, Migos not only went jewelry shopping and flaunted blinding bling on the carpet, but snapped a pic with NFL Hall of Famer Emitt Smith, who was the muse for the trio’s 2013 song named after the all-time leading rusher, “Emmitt Smith.” “He a real playa, he a real cool dude,” offered Offset. Takeoff also noted the meeting was “a dream come true.”
Check out who I met in Houston… @Migos! pic.twitter.com/WVH7V6yV6B
— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) February 3, 2017
Before performing Culture cuts at the New Era celebration, like “T-Shirt,” “Get Right Witcha” and “What the Price,” the North Atlanta reps opened with “Call Casting” and a snippet of “Emmitt Smith,” which had the former Dallas Cowboys running back standing and jamming along from his VIP section.
Migos also honored wide receiver Julio Jones of their hometown team, the Atlanta Falcons — who are competing at Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots on Sunday (Feb. 5) — with a special pair of Atlanta and Culture-themed cleats. “We got with Under Armour and we just put something together for my boy Julio because this a big moment for us, and he need them Culture cleats for the game so we can bring [the Vince Lombardi trophy] home,” explained Offset.
Rain Drop. Drop Top. Bringin’ the speed that you can’t stop. @Migos @juliojones_11 #IWILL pic.twitter.com/QOz9HSlRVN
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) February 4, 2017
It’s only right that @Migos hooked up @juliojones_11 the #Culture way. @1YoungTakeoff @OffsetYRN @QuavoStuntin #IWILL pic.twitter.com/gx3CNkKVir
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) February 4, 2017
As for what lies ahead, Migos spoke briefly of their forthcoming collaboration with Drake. “[The song] sound good, sound crazy,” said Quavo. Offset added, “Just wait on it.”