Offset’s second solo album should’ve emerged last November, but was delayed after his Migos bandmate Takeoff was shot dead. It’s unclear how close the two were at the end – Takeoff and third Migo Quavo had seemingly ditched him to focus on their Unc & Phew project. Either way, it doesn’t feel like Offset has spent the intervening year primping Set It Off into perfection. Compared with two of the biggest guests here, he still doesn’t have a USP as strong as Travis Scott’s irrepressible exuberance or Future’s delirious self-obsession.
Instead, the album hurtles amiably around the exhausting hot mess of Offset’s life, taking you into his confidence with appealing directness, preoccupied with opponents and freaky sex and pricey cars and fancy clothes and prescription medication – not forgetting his five kids or superstar wife, Cardi B. It is, of course, too long. But its peripatetic nature means you can easily assemble your own collection from its 21 tracks. Tense, urgent Broad Day, eerie Night Vision, or feisty duets Fine As Can Be and Princess Cut should all make that list.
