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Pierre "Pee" Thomas, C.E.O. of Migos' label, Atlanta indie hip-hop outfit Quality Control Music, says "I had never heard a style like that ever." As former manager of Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy, Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee had major credibility on the Atlanta hip-hop scene. To that end, they signed Migos to a record deal almost immediately. "It stuck out like a sore thumb," Pee says of the group's distinctive sound and incomparable rap cadence. "And you could really hear the passion in their music. When you got somebody with style, creativity and passion you can't pass that by."

The group's success has not been without its challenges. In April 2015, all three members were arrested at Georgia Southern University after police allegedly found less than an ounce of marijuana, some codeine syrup and four handguns in the group's tour vans. Quavo and Takeoff posted bail after two nights in jail, but Offset, with burglary and theft convictions on his record, spent the better part of the following eight months in jail. He missed a large portion of the recording process and release of the group's debut album, that year's Yung Rich Nation, which had middling commercial returns.

Ask him now about his time away and Offset says it helped put things in perspective. He felt immensely "blessed" to be back in the fold when recording Culture. "We ain't doing no more negative vibes," he says. "It's all positive from here on."

"We ain't doing no more negative vibes... It's all positive from here on."

There's a feeling among Migos and their management that things are only ramping up. After years of no luck convincing late-night TV music bookers of their worth, they recently played Jimmy Kimmel Live! and are gunning for more TV appearances in the weeks to come. Their fame has also gone global in a major way: late last year Migos played a raucous show in Nigeria from which a clip went viral of the crowd singing practically every word of "Bad and Boujee" back to them. "I had chills during that show," Offset says. "It just put so much energy through my body."

"It was only right we went to the mother land and paid our respects," Quavo says. "We had to get that official stamp."

Quavo says he's also hoping to parlay the success of directing the "T-Shirt" video, as well as his standout guest role on Atlanta, into more diverse creative offerings. "My vision and my creative ability is just so broad," he says. "I'm just willing to try different things. But you gotta keep it all making sense."

Migos still feel there's much to prove, though. "We established in the game but I feel like we don't got what we want yet," Quavo says. He's vague on the specifics, but in talking to him one senses he and the other members of Migos are gunning for Drake-level ubiquity: platinum records, Grammys, legendary status. For a group who often speak in sports metaphors, it's the championships they say that remain elusive. "We still ain't got them rings," Quavo says. "We gotta go get them rings and win some championships."

Coach K, having watched the long arc of a hip-hop career many times over, is more even-keeled in his assessment. Ask him about the future prospects of Migos and he says if their career is a basketball game right now the ball is most certainly in their court.

"It's only the second quarter right now," he says with a satisfied chuckle, "and we up!"

Read the rest here:
How Migos Inspired Everyone From Hillary Clinton to Donald Glover - Esquire.com