Offset, a former member of Migos, is shown plummeting upside down out of a burning metropolis in his most recent album, SET IT OFF, which is only his second solo album after 2019’s FATHER OF 4. This is a parody of the idea that he wants to distinguish himself from the other rappers in the scene, whom he represents as having too little variety and creativity. Welcome to ET IT OFF, where there is no small talk and only designer boasts conveyed through terrifying triplet flows. Throughout the process, he experiments with several sounds and subgenres without entirely committing to any of them. Even though the landing isn’t entirely successful, Offset’s aspirations as an ambitious musician with a wide range of musical tastes who can save a dying industry are glimpsed throughout the album.
He said in a pre-album interview with Apple Music 1 that the intention behind SET IT OFF was to demonstrate Offset’s true creative self and give his solo music more personality. If the album’s purpose was to further his artistic development, it succeeds in this regard superficially; nevertheless, in the process, it presents an overstuffed tracklist chock-full of the kind of formulaic, carefree trap hits that he’s grown to be known for. It’s admirable that he isn’t devoting too much time to addressing any of the turmoil on the record, especially in light of his marriage to Cardi B and the time he’s spent in the news and speculations throughout the larger pop cultural lexicon. However, the flexes that take the place of the introspective material aren’t inventive or distinctive enough to keep Offset up throughout the 21 tracks on the album. Tracks like the anti-everyone hymn “FAN” are laced with lines like “you could be my engineer shorty, how you bounce it” and “diamonds on my neck, that shit pure water like a fountain.”
Offset’s artistic spectrum is well-represented in the first three tracks of the album, but the album’s flow is hampered by the rest of the tracklist’s pacing and arrangement, which jumps around in terms of sound rather than staying in one place for an extended period of time. He does a slew of cliched flexes in the “ON THE RIVER” opener, as if he’s checking boxes. “I’m tellin’ the truth, I became the one when I got out of the group,” he says, briefly addressing the division among the Migos members. It’s understandable to feel as though your creative freedom has increased after going solo. Offset, however, excels when he delivers humorous nuances through quick-fire flows rather than parroting speech that has already gained popularity. Without the backing, Offset can easily hide behind the song as a solo artist with a still-small sample size and avoid taking too many risks. In “WORTH IT,” Offset ventures into the lyrical, romantic realm of Don Toliver, addressing the suffering and complexities that accompany romantic love amidst the ethereal guitar chords of CHASETHEMONEY. Offset expresses an intriguing feeling when he raps about trying to be loved back, implying that he wants to grow and be committed to the music and career.
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