Per4mative Fatherhood (FATHER OF FOUR by Offset review)
Cardi B’s husband and one third of the hit-making Migos, Offset, has had a rough few months. Some of it not his fault, but most of the rough has been self-inflicted. He cheated on his Grammy-winning wife. He basically stalked her and crashed a performance, which is not a good look. “Im sorry bruh”. But he got her back so…good for him I guess? He almost died when he crashed his lambo into a tree, to avoid hitting a “crackhead”. And he became a father of four, with the birth of his daughter Kulture.
The birth of his daughter took the limelight, but mostly because Cardi B had a kid, not Offset. Meanwhile, the other Migos released their own solo projects. An industrial fan on the lowest speed has more to say than Quavo did on QUAVOHUNCHO. Takeoff however pulled together a fun, endearing, airtight solo project. The Last Rocket was a lighthearted trap celebration of Takeoff’s success. More importantly, it did not take itself too seriously. He understood his limitation, and worked within them to highlight his strengths. Offset does not do that. He takes himself far too seriously, his attempts to stand out too awkward to count.
As you might have guessed, this album is about fatherhood. Rappers talking about fatherhood can always go wrong, especially for the less introspective voices. Offset’s voice is distinct, but the distinction comes from extreme specialization. In other words, he has one flow, one inflection, one speed; a speedy triplet flow, a glistening rhyme scheme, and the occasional ad-lib. His one delivery means he lacks zero emotional weight in his voice.
His lack of depth is surveyed the moment he starts on rapping on the title-track. Lamenting over “not being there” for his oldest child should present a touching intro, from a particular point of view. But…it’s so boring. Offset’s emotion makes the smallest blip on the radar of human empathy. This blip however is indicative of the entire record. Detached, vague mentions of retroactive poverty, current lavishness, and….remorse for being a shitty husband and father…i guess. Literally this one song lists every possible sense of importance that can be pulled from this record; a table of contents for the most useless parenting guide ever.
The next song, “How Did I Get Here?” has a J.Cole feature. I don’t want to spoil nor dwell on the pretentiousness that oozes from this track. Go listen to this cold-rice-porridge-for-the-soul bullshit.
“Lick” is the first lick of an interesting song. (And it only took 11 minutes of auditory tapioca to get there). The beat is supremely catchy, with a wild flute melody; a melody which Offset tames with an above-average performance. Not great, just above average. Content wise, it zooms in on the less glamorous side of Offset, and by extension the Migos. The image of Offset without the ice, without the fame, having to rob to feed his kids; it’s the first genuine idea presented. Although he can’t even stay on topic, as he brings up lynching and black-on-black crime, in passing. Other than the MEANINGLESS “black and brown” line in the hook, civil rights is not discussed further. In fact, Offset follows these political lines with “trying not to be political”. Yes, clearly. “Lick” is just Offset rapping about robbing people, for his kids. And that would have been perfectly fine, but with needless addition of forced filler, it soils the track.
This forced formula that FATHER OF 4 follows is followed firmly throughout every song on this fucking annoying album. The less annoying moments come occasionally. If the song has a feature, the song is good. The same problem with each Migo solo project: monotony. A feature staves the monotony off for brief moments of oxygen, but not enough oxygen is saved for your brain to process and remember any of it. Cardi B (lol), Gunna, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, and Cee Lo Green (just to name a few) are all present on this album. Other than a phenomenal vocal performance, none of them really stand out.
Offset is the singular focus of FATHER OF FOUR. An Offset centered Offset solo project would have made sense, but Offset purposefully shifted the focus to this faux apology for his kids. I am not saying Offset is a bad father, not in the slightest. This album does convey as sense of paternal love and admiration. But…it’s not exciting enough to warrant sitting through that admiration, especially the apologetic parts.
(5 out of 10)
