Migos madness: the ultimate bracket of Migos songs

There’s no denying it at this point. If Quavo, Offset and Takeoff, collectively known as the hip-hop supergroup Migos, woke up tomorrow and decided they were done with rap, they’d already have more than enough material for a greatest hits album. We’re pleased to report they aren’t, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with their extensive catalog anyway.

Sports and Migos go together like the Jheri curl and Soul Glo in Coming To America. Look no further than LeBron James’ Instagram Stories, Kevin Durant giving Quavo a game-worn jersey during the Golden State Warriors’ annual Atlanta stop, Los Angeles Laker Lonzo Ball’s playlist and, most importantly, Quality Control’s trophy case featuring Quavo’s All-Star Celebrity Game MVP award that he deservedly won last month in Los Angeles.

With the Sweet 16 tipping off this weekend, it’s only right, with the Three Wise Migos themselves, that we unveil the “Skrrrt 16.” It’s exactly what you think it is too: a March Madness-style bracket curated by us (The Undefeated) and them (Migos). And just like the actual NCAA tournament, there are a plethora of snubs — “John Wick,” “Say Sum,” “Slippery,” “Too Hotty” and more — but Migos just has too many dope records.

We need your help with narrowing down these 16 into the ultimate one. The conversation is happening at Twitter. Have your friends get with our friends and we can fill a bracket before the weekend. Without further ado, let’s get to it and break down the regions …

We teamed up with the @Migos to bring you the official #Skrrrt16. The floor is yours. pic.twitter.com/7evIPTTryL

— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) March 20, 2018

Culture I Region

1. “Bad and Boujee” (2016) — This is the top overall seed of the bracket — and for good reason. Despite all the surefire hits the Migos have to their name, “Bad & Boujee” is the only one that went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The dynasty the track sparked all began in August 2016, when Quality Control got out of a deal with 300 Entertainment. “The rest,” the label’s chief operating officer, Kevin “Coach K” Lee, said recently, “is history.” The record took off and catapulted the group into another stratosphere of influence, complete with countless memes and an iconic shout-out from Donald Glover on the Golden Globes stage. “Bad and Boujee” is the undefeated heavy favorite to win this bracket.
2. “T-Shirt” (2017) — This was a tough one for the selection committee. We had to decide between making “T-Shirt” a No. 1 seed (which it probably should be) or placing the track as a No. 2 seed in the Culture region, with an epic matchup against “Bad and Boujee” in play for the Elite 8. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but “B&B” vs. “T-Shirt” in the second round would settle an often debated question that even the greatest of hip-hop connoisseurs have failed to settle: Which one is the best track on Culture? Perhaps its stunning The Revenant-meets-the-trap-themed video will give “T-Shirt” the slight edge.
3. “What The Price” (2017) — You can’t tell me Takeoff yodeling, “WHAT THE PRIIIICE” doesn’t sound like Mufasa from The Lion King. This is hip-hop opera, if we’re being honest with ourselves. It’s such a classic Migos cut, and superstrong 3-seed, setting the stage for a huge matchup with “T-Shirt” in the opening round of Skrrrt 16. Is a potential upset brewing? We shall see.
4. “Bando” (2012) — Fun fact: The Migos and the 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, running back Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints, all grew up together in Nawf Atlanta. And one story that Kamara always recounts is his memory of the then-up-and-coming rappers going to nightclubs every weekend to perform one song, and one song only, hoping to catch their big break. That song? “Bando,” which is where it all really began for the hip-hop trio. You’ve gotta respect how far Quavo, Offset and Takeoff have come since this early banger.

Culture II Region

1. “Stir Fry” (2018) — It’s a No. 1 seed for a reason. In what will likely go down as Culture II’s biggest hit, the Pharrell-produced number was also their third-highest charting single — No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The wide appeal of “Stir Fry,” while still remaining true to the group’s eccentric dynamic, is undeniable; it was the NBA’s official theme song of All-Star Weekend. Hard to deny that résumé a No. 1 seed.
2. “MotorSport” (2018) — Cardi B’s aggression blended with her simultaneous public displays of affection for Offset. Nicki Minaj’s follow-up that (temporarily, at least) quelled rumors of long-standing beef between the two rap stars. The three Migos crafted a futuristic trap monster that set the stage for Culture II.
3. “Walk It Talk It” (2018) — The most intoxicating music video of 2018 has arrived, and we’re only three months into the year. On March 18, while teams in the NCAA tournament were fighting for spots in the Sweet 16, the Migos dropped the visuals for their Culture II track “Walk It Talk It” in the form of a Soul Train-themed masterpiece, which features Jamie Foxx as the Don Cornelius-inspired host of the fictional program Culture Ride, the hip-hop trio as a swaying band swagged out in ruffled suits on top of platform shoes, and the song’s featured artist, Drake, coming to the stage rocking a Jheri curl. Co-directed by Daps and Quavo, the video even features a version of a Soul Train line, down which Offset pops and locks. Everybody and they mama surely took a break from hoops to watch this when it was released Sunday. Foxx, Quavo, Offset, Takeoff and Drake — that’s a starting five right there, boy.
4. “Handsome and Wealthy” (2014) — Catch this in the club, day party or cookout and it instantly becomes a choir rehearsal that your church aunts and grandpas would likely not approve of. One of the group’s earlier smashes, it still goes, and bless Offset forever for his closing spiritual: I know why you came in this club tonight / Looking for a n—a that’s gon’ change your life. Those bars leading directly into Quavo’s hook? Glorious. Simply glorious. “MotorSport” might be in trouble.

NAWF Region

1. “Fight Night” (2014) — Seven months before the drop, and ensuing success, of “Handsome and Wealthy,” the Migos delivered an absolute smash with the certified gold “Fight Night” — the group’s highest-charting pre-“Bad and Boujee” single, which spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 69 in September 2014. Also, if you had any doubts about Takeoff’s abilities in the booth, he squashed all of them by absolutely floating on the intro, hook and first verse of “Fight Night.” He opens with four masterful bars — If you know me, know this ain’t my feng shui / Certified everywhere, ain’t gotta print my résumé / Talking crazy, I pull up, andale / R.I.P. to Nate Dogg, I had to regulate — and carries the track the rest of the way. Don’t sleep on “Fight Night,” which has all the components of a deep run.
2. “Freak No More” (2014) — And now for the biggest sleeper in the pool: 2014’s club anthem “Freak No More.” This trap ballad, which never truly got the mainstream play it deserved (likely because of title and content), is the perfect combination of rapping and singing, with the choppiness of verses transitioning into Quavo’s suave crooning on the chorus. This is an early example of the now-proven fact that Quavo can carry a track not only as an MC but also as the ultimate hook man. You can’t tell us that you’ve never caught some twerk — or, for the of-age crowd, thrown some ones — while this served as the soundtrack to the moment. Watch out, “Fight Night” … “Freak No More” is a borderline No. 1 seed, coming for the upset.
3. “Wishy Washy” (2014) — If you go back and look at the video, in particular at Offset, here’s something you’ll never be able to unsee: He looks like a regular-height Joel Embiid. Same hairstyle and everything. True story. Regardless, this standout from the 2014 project Rich N—a Timeline didn’t get much radio play because, well, you hear the subject matter. But let’s just say it lived and thrived in the ecosystem of Atlanta’s (strip) clubs without a hitch.
4. “Cocoon” (2016) — There’s a prophetic aura that surrounds the Migos’ non-album single “Cocoon,” which dropped on May 5, 2016, before the August release of “Bad and Boujee” and the group’s magnum opus Culture in January 2017. Be myself at the top like a cocoon (aye, like cocoon) / … We the wave, we the wave, typhoon (wave, aye, typhoon), Quavo spits on the track’s hook as a quasi-prediction of the rapid rise to superstardom the three rappers would soon experience — and their need to protect themselves (like a cocoon) once they reached the top. Obviously, in the end, the Migos back up these braggadocious bars. While “Cocoon” might be a forgotten track that some consider a throwaway, it’s definitely worthy of a Skrrrt 16 bid.

YRN Region

1. “Versace” (2013) — The most incredible aspect of this song is its staying power: The song’s flow influenced the entire game. A Drake feature, in 2013, was like the Bermuda Triangle. He annihilates the feature so effectively that the song becomes his, and the original artists are left to wonder where they go from here. Drake undeniably put the remix in the figure-four leglock with one of the standout verses of his career — and one of the better features of the decade, if we’re really keeping it a bean. But Migos absorbed the publicity and became stronger. They really are the rap Voltron. If that’s not No. 1-worthy, then nothing is.
2. “Hannah Montana” (2013) — If you’ve ever seen them perform this song live, especially at a festival, then the reaction this still gets a half-decade later is nothing short of amazing. Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) has since handed her struggle-twerk card in, giving the title a different context now. But the allusion to “Hannah Montana” as a drug reference was brilliantly cunning. The fact many outside of rap didn’t get the reference was the closest (and most unintentionally funny) hip-hop magic trick since Dave Chappelle’s revelation about “skeet skeet” in the early 2000s.
3. “Pipe It Up” (2015) — “Look at My Dab” didn’t make the cut in the field of the Skrrrt 16, but “Pipe It Up” (which actually dropped first) is certainly puttin’ on for the Migos-created dab — the hottest dance in the past decade. It even inspired the group’s own brand of potato chips. Back in 2015, it was hard to find a highlight during Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton’s MVP-winning season without the second single off the group’s debut studio album, Yung Rich Nation, playing over top of it. That’s a winning formula from the song that features the refrain “Pipe It Up” 92 times. Far from lyrical genius, yes, but the track sure does make you wanna dab.
4. “One Time” (2015) — A strong 2015 for the Migos brought us the culture-shaking dance records “Look At My Dab” and “Pipe It Up,” but it all began with “One Time,” which features a repetitive party hook: Smoke one one time (smoke one) / Drink some one time (drink, drink) / Lemme f— some one time (smash) / Tear the club one time (turn the club up). Opening with all three members of the group passed out on the couch after a night of Lord knows what, the music video is definitely inspired by 2009’s The Hangover and brings a similar infectious energy.