Migos went from being dismissed as a trend—and left off the XXL Freshman cover, as the star of this piece recently noted—to being one of the most copied hip-hop artists of the decade. People started coming around to the idea of Migos as icons when “Bad and Boujee” dropped and became a phenomenon. Since then, even the most cursory fans have latched onto the trio’s respective personalities.
Offset is the one who puts the street edge to his rhymes, while Takeoff is the quiet dude who “takes off” when he’s spitting the bars. But nearly every group has a star, and Quavo is that guy: He holds pop hits together with infectious hooks and constantly impresses, whether he comes with auto-tune or polychromatic flows. The dude can even beat your favorite rapper in a game of hoops.
Of course, fans knew about Migos’ talent well before “Bad and Boujee,” and although Takeoff was a workhorse in those earlier times, people could’ve made an argument for Quavo’s star potential. In the last two years, he’s become a must-have feature, though the journey to this point has come with some awkward moments—most obviously that Saturday Night Live performance with Katy Perry, and more recently somehow ending up on an Iggy Azalea track. Even with these bumps in the road, but there’s vicarious joy in seeing Huncho get his due.
Travis Scott is down for leaning back and letting his guests take the shine, and has let Quavo do just that. Then there’s Young Thug, whose charismatic versatility mirrors Huncho’s, and makes their collaboration magic. Check out these team-ups and other major ones—including the cornier but commercially successful cuts—on our list of the best Quavo features.