Who is Migos?
Born and raised in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville, Georgia, this trio—composed of three young men who go by Quavo, Takeoff and Offset—sticks together as closely related family members who’ve gone through the proverbial ringer together.
Drugs, poverty, jail time and a quick rise to fame are just a few experiences that the group has mentioned—both in songs and interviews. But on their top 10 track “MotorSport,” money is their main topic¬—along with the women who are drawn to it.
The video opens on a stormy night in a futuristic cityscape, where luxury cars glide through the air and serve as a backdrop for the song’s singers. Migos’ three members sport stylish motocross gear and plenty of gold, while female rappers Cardi B and Nicki Minaj showcase leather outfits that leave very little to the imagination.
The camera zooms in on Quavo as he leans up against an expensive sports car. He raps that he wants to “put that thing in sport” mode, while talking about a woman that he wants to “pop … like a cork.” That objectifying line is a good indication of where things will go from there.
Quavo shifts gears for a fraction of a second, saying, “Faced my fears (fears), gave my mama tears (mama),” presumably referencing chasing his dreams of stardom after the group had been denied multiple times.
Shifting back immediately, however, Offset takes the stage (he too is perched against a sports car) as he brags about using cocaine, spending money and driving a Lamborghini: “This season’s off-white come in snorted (white)/Green Lamborghini a tortoise (Lambo)/Hundred K, I spend on my señora (racks).”
Next up: Cardi B, followed by Nicki Minaj. The two rappers combine forces to send a message to female haters that they’re the best in the business, all the while dishing on their graphic sexual encounters with various men. References to drugs and violence turn up, too. As mentioned, each of the women dresses in next to nothing, and what they are wearing hugs their curves tightly. Nicki also crawls on the floor toward the camera (cleavage galore) and is at one point shown with her legs sprawled apart—again, leaving precious little to the imagination.
Takeoff then takes off with still more graphic language concerning Minaj. He crudely says that if Minaj will expose a certain body part to him, “Right hand on the Bible, I swear I won’t tell (swear).” There are worse lyrics to be found in this objectifying song, but those lines demonstrate these men’s misogynistic perspective on women.
The song and video both conclude with still more problematic content: additional explicit, degrading sexual references to women, and more nods to drug use and violence. Oh, and Quavo—oddly—singing about his grandmother: “My grandma could see me (grandma)/Take away pain, ain’t easy (pain)/That’s why I fire up a bleezy (fire).”
Migos may bring to mind the Spanish word amigos, meaning friends. But there’s more going on with this band’s moniker than that. While these three are certainly friends, as well as blood relatives, the group’s name is actually a slang synonym for a trap house, a place where illegal drugs are peddled.
And if that information isn’t enough to make you closely examine what they’re about, then perhaps their crude and derogatory references to women, as well as their glorification of drugs and violence, will sway you in the opposite direction.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
