It was a decade ago when the Migos established themselves as one of hip-hop’s most promising acts. The Atlanta group had quickly amassed a strong following thanks to their viral hit “Versace” and a co-sign by one of the biggest names in the game. But unfortunately for Offset, the Migos’ rise wasn’t immediately clear to him, as he was behind bars throughout their big breakout year.
The Grammy-nominated rapper addressed the topic during his recent appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where he was asked to recall his “oh fuck, we made it” moment. He said things really blew up after Drake hopped on the remix of “Versace,” the Zaytoven-produced track that appeared on their 2013 project, Y.R.N. (Young Rich N***as).
“See, so I was incarcerated when my song [‘Versace’] popped, and then Drake got on my song,” he explained. “I was in a jail cell one day, right? And they doin’ count, like at 6 in the morning, and I’m up and [the guard is] singing my song as he do count.”
Offset said he didn’t make a big deal about the occurrence, because he was oblivious to how big the Migos had gotten in the outside world.
“So the whole time I’m in there, I’m not telling people what’s going on ’cause I really don’t know what’s really going on,” he continued. “I just know we was in, like, a motion but I’m in jail, my mind’s everywhere, I’m in a bad space. And the guard doing the count and he singing, ‘Versace, Versace, Versace.’ And as he walked off, he’s singing the song. I’m like, ‘Yo, what the fuck?’”
Offset went on, “Soon as we got out, I get on the phone, call them back home, like, ‘Yo.’ They like ‘Yeah, Drake on it.’ I’m like, ‘What?!’ ... The homies like, ‘Yeah [‘Versace’ is] on the radio.’ But I’m not knowing—I’m thinking they got it played on the radio once or twice, real quick or something. And then it’s, like, nah.”
Although Offset wouldn’t get released for another few months, he began experiencing the perks of fame while behind bars.
“I had to sit down for, like, four more months as that went on,” he said. “I had a visitation thing—I’m married now, y’all, so it’s not nothing crazy, this is before my wife. You can have six visits in one day, 30 minutes apiece, and I had, like my mom on there, and I had some girls I was dealing with, but they weren’t coming.”
Offset said his mom was visiting him every week, but the women in his life were pretty much out of the picture—that is, until “Versace” started making waves.
“But then all of sudden, they like, ‘You got six visits.’ I’m like, ‘I got six visits?’” he recalled. “I’m tryin’ to think. … Back to back. ... That's when I was like, ‘Oh shit, this shit is crazy.’ That was my first taste of it."
Offset spoke on the Migos’ early success in a 2021 appearance on VladTV. He said it was “a little hard” being in jail while his fellow members, Quavo and Takeoff, were experiencing their success in the outside world.
“I was still straight, though, ’cause they were saving me some paper,” he said. “We ain’t never had no real money before, during that time, so I was straight. I was just chillin’. It was a blessing to come home to something.”
