Why did Migos break up?
In 2022, trap’s three best friends fell out. Big time. After months-long speculation, Migos finally said that the group was moving forward as a duo. Members Quavo and Takeoff were to continue as normal, while Offset pursued his own projects.
Migos revolutionised trap music with their ad-lib-heavy style, and became one of rap’s most successful groups with hits like ‘Bad and Boujee’, ‘Walk It Talk It’, and ‘Stir Fry’.
The news of the end came from a teaser of Revolut TV’s Big Facts podcast, where Quavo and Takeoff spoke about the growing division in the Atlanta trio. Quavo specifically addressed the problems around loyalty that were growing in Migos.
“I just feel like we want to see our career as a duo, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “Because, you know, we just came from a loyal family, shit that’s supposed to stick together. And sometimes, when shit don’t work out, it ain’t meant to be.”
Quavo’s comments indicated that there was a breakdown among the group’s members, despite being related by blood. Quavo and Takeoff are uncle and nephew, and Offset was Quavo’s cousin. The close ties must have made the decision to split even more painful.
Takeoff, however, took a less aggressive approach to the situation. “We don’t know all the answers, you feel me? God knows. We pray a lot, you know?” he explained. “Whatever ain’t right and however you supposed to see it fit, you put it back together or however you do it, we pray. So only time will tell. We always family now, that ain’t gon’ change”.
If going by Takeoff’s words, the professional collaboration of all three Migos may have been over, but the family bond remained intact. From Quavo’s perspective though, the supposed disloyalty from Offset was irreversible damage.
“We stand on real deal, real deal loyalty, and sometimes that shit ain’t displayed. This ain’t got nothing to do with no label, no paperwork, no QC, nothing. This got something to do with three brothers”.
“And shit, it is what it is. Right now, we gon’ be the duo ‘til time tell”, he added.
Quavo dismissed industry rumours that the split was over contractual disputes with Migos’ label, Quality Control Music. He made it very clear that the decision to be a duo was purely personal, rooted in the three rappers’ dynamic.
Interestingly, Quavo and Takeoff had been releasing music together before the Migos announcement was made. Under the name ‘Unc & Phew’, they had dropped four singles and released their album Only Built For Infinity Links by October 7th, 2022. Offset had been busy too. He shared two solo singles, ‘54321’ and ‘Code’, and dropped his album HAUNTED BY FAME last month, which features NBA, YoungBoy and NoCap.
On November 1st, 2022, Offset was shot and killed in Houston, Texas. He was 28 years old.
The news of Migos’ split was sad for many rap fans, but it wasn’t surprising. The members hadn’t appeared together publicly for a while, and had been unfollowing each other on social media. Quavo’s response suggested that the doors had closed on the three-person trap group, but Takeoff’s words left the possibility open for more triplet flows in the future. Sadly, with Offset’s, the latter was never realised.