In just under three years, rap trio Migos - which consists of Quavious "Quavo" Marshall,
Kirsnick "Takeoff" Ball, and Kiari "Offset" Cephus - rose from obscurity to the top of
the charts with their hit 2017 album Culture and their 2018 follow-up Culture II.
It didn't take long for the world to become hypnotized by hip hop's mumble rap champs,
and their lives have certainly done a 180 since fame seemingly dropped in their laps.
But how much do you really know about the music industry's latest fad?
Here's a look at the Untold Truth of Migos.
It's a family affair
In an interview with GQ, it was revealed that Quavo and Takeoff are uncle and nephew, respectively,
while Offset is Quavo's cousin.
Quavo told The Fader that Takeoff's mother raised the two of them together.
"[Takeoff's] momma took care of everything, and us.
We always stayed in the same house.
We share everything.
He's basically like a brother."
Takeoff seconded that sentiment by saying,
"I don't look at him as my uncle, but more as my brother.
But we always have clowned on each other.
He is my uncle, so I gotta clown on him.
You gotta be funny."
Crime sprees funded their image
After spending a considerable amount of time with each other as kids, the group "cliqued
together" and started calling themselves "Migos."
They soon turned to a life of crime to support their music aspirations.
Offset told Rolling Stone,
"We had to got-damn find some motherf*****g money.
[…] You gotta flex.
You gotta look good, bro.
Especially coming from the outskirts and wanting to take over the whole Atlanta."
The group told Thrasher that their dreams were finally realized when they made the video
for their hit song "Versace."
"When we came out doing 'Versace,' we were actually fantasizing about wearing it.
We didn't even have the clothes until we got to the video shoot and they brought in all
the props.
Then they tried to take 'em away from us after the video shoot."
Guns, drugs, and jail
According to TMZ, in March 2014 while Migos and their crew were leaving a club appearance,
a vehicle "pulled up alongside them and started shooting."
Then Migos reportedly returned fire, and at least one member of their entourage was injured,
but there were no reported fatalities.
The group wasn't so lucky just four months later, when a man named Cory Marzette and
another unidentified man reportedly shot into a "crowd of people" who were gathered at the
hotel to celebrate the rap group's musical success, killing an innocent bystander.
Although Offset was present at the party, he allegedly refused to cooperate with police
investigation.
The Gwinnett Daily Post reported that the incident was likely linked to Migos' rivalry
with a Georgia-based music group and alleged street gang called 2G.
But the investigation took a turn when the suspect, Marzette, took his own life in September
2015 during a standoff with police.
Finally, in April, 2015, the group was arrested on gun and drug charges, with Offset serving
eight months in jail as a result.
The Grammy snub
After successfully climbing the charts in 2017 with their breakout album Culture and
their smash hit "Bad and Boujee," Migos thought for sure they'd be snagging a Grammy award.
During an interview with Beats1, Quavo boasted,
"I feel like we worked the album for a whole year and rode it the whole year.
That's why I feel it's our time to take that Grammy home."
Instead, it was Pulitzer prize winner Kendrick Lamar who took home the Grammy for Best Rap
Album.
Quavo wasn't pleased, telling NME,
"There was nothing bigger than the f***ing Culture album this whole last year!"
Interview woes
For a group that loves self-promotion, Migos aren't exactly the easiest people to interview.
NME noted that the group was five hours late to their interview, while Migos also infamously
walked out of an interview with Dana Cortez after she asked Offset a question about his
on-stage wedding proposal to fellow rapper Cardi B.
At the 2017 BET Awards, though, the shoe was on the other foot when interviewer Joe Budden
literally dropped the mic and walked off after getting frustrated with the group's attitude.
That reportedly led to an altercation that had to be broken up by security.
LGBTQ backlash
Considering their entire career revolves around choosing just the right words to craft a hit
lyric, it's surprising that Migos has claimed multiple times that comments they made about
the LGBTQ community were the result of simple miscommunication.
After rapper ILoveMakonnen received widespread support for coming out on Twitter, Offset
told Rolling Stone Makonnen only received backing because "the world is f***ed up."
Takeoff added, "This world is not right."
After intense backlash, Migos released a statement on Twitter explaining that they only meant
it was so sad that Makonnen had to hide his true self in the first place!
Obviously.
"We feel the world is f***ed up that people feel like they have to hide and we're asked
to comment on someone's sexuality.
We have no problem with anyone's sexual preference.
We love all people, gay or straight and we apologize if we offended anyone."
And after Offset later rapped the lyric "I cannot vibe with queers" on rapper YFN Lucci's
song, "Boss Life," he took to Instagram to explain that he totally loves gay people and
was referring to, you know, people who act odd or strange.
"I didn't write the line about gay people […] I got love for all people.
My passion for fashion has lead me to a lot of gay people around me who I have mad respect
for […] I'm not in a place where I'm hating like that."
See?
Just a misunderstanding.
Straight off the dome
It may or may not come as a surprise that Migos doesn't actually write their songs.
Actually, nobody does.
Instead, they told Vice they have a unique creative process where each member takes 20
minutes in the recording booth to just make up whatever they can, and then afterwards,
they edit the results together into a track.
Offset explained,
"We never wrote a song before.
We ain't ever wrote no song.
Everything we do come straight off the dome.
We go into the booth and record it and it comes out a masterpiece."
Jeff Goldblum is a big fan
One of their most unlikely fans is none other than superstar actor Jeff Goldblum, who is
actually a musician in his own right, headlining a weekly jazz show in Los Angeles.
And he told Vice he'd love to collaborate with Quavo and Migos.
"Oh my gosh, I'd be thrilled to do any, any little thing with him and them.
Yeah that would be a lot of fun.
It could go anywhere!
That's a great idea."
"Bad and Boujee" with Jeff Goldblum adding a jazz touch?
Now that's a hit single we can't wait to hear.
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