Patience has finally paid off for Quality Control, the Atlanta label founded by Coach K, a long time rap mentor and manager to trap mavens Gucci Mane and Jeezy, and local hustler Pierre “Pee” Thomas, now the company’s chief executive. Led by Migos and Lil Yachty, the brand is stronger now than ever. There was a No. 1 single, a slew of brand partnerships, and a high-profile proposal consolidating rap power. After a year of hits and wins, the label was recently featured in The New York Times, and K was profiled in The New Yorker. The name Quality Control implies a focus on nurturing talent, and that developmental style has reaped dividends in 2017, with fans and analysts taking notice. “There’s some artists we could’ve signed if we were trying to get some right-now money, but we’re trying to build something for the long run,” Pee told The New York Times. The QC executives have chalked the burgeoning label’s success to a local-first, street-focused approach to roster-building and music making, even though they’re home to some of the most internet-friendly acts out. “If I’m being honest—and it might sound ignorant—I don’t own a computer. I’m really out here in it,” Pee said. K echoed the sentiment in his profile: “We did it in the hood, man.”
But the truth lies somewhere in-between: there is an organic, streets-first mentality to the infrastructure, but there’s also a memeability and virality to the label’s biggest stars, like Yachty breaking out on syncs from a viral comedy sketch or Migos getting an impromptu, word of mouth shout from Donald Glover live during a Golden Globes telecast, boosting their Spotify stats by 243%. (They must understand this, for the upcoming Migos video will parody a viral feud with the cast of the web series “Everyday Struggle.”) Quality Control scored huge in 2017, bridging the gap between trap ideology and traditional business mechanics, hood recruiting and economics, and viral marketing. Control the Streets, Vol. 1 takes stock of the Quality Control empire, particularly the Migos explosion, recapping the year that was and looking to establish future stars.
The message here is unmistakable: “The street that you walking on, we control it/Quality Control this shit,” Quavo raps on the intro before adding, “YRN, throwin’ up QC/We got trap stars and we on TV.” The evidence supports his claims. On “South Africa,” he raps, “Ice chain, QC keep on spinning,” presenting the project’s more general idea: Quality Control has arrived, they can’t stop and they won’t stop. If there was any questioning Migos’ value to QC, they establish themselves as the label’s flagship act on its compilation: a member of the trio appears on 22 of a possible 30 tracks and they mix them in with guests, individually and together, to create all kinds of unique pairings and match-ups. They each have have their strong individual showings—Offset on “Violation Freestyle,” Takeoff on “We the Ones,” and Quavo on “She For Keeps” with Nicki Minaj—but they got here as a unit, and that’s still how they best operate.
They luxuriate in their raps, enjoying their toys and taunting their skeptics, and when their verses stack neatly into each other, they’re particularly effective. “Bosses Don’t Speak” addresses lesser stunters while “Thick & Pretty” takes measurements of the models and strippers they surround themselves with. Both songs are filled with acrobatics and simple but effective one-liners like “My bitch so bad she walk around being mean.” Then there’s “Too Hotty,” which warps Eurielle’s “Carry Me” into a spooker. “Pull up in the Poltergeist/Hundred thousand on me, yikes!” Offset raps. Takeoff takes things big picture: “Migos but move like the mafia/Can’t see it, you need some binoculars.” The jump cutting and flipping would be dizzying if the ideas weren’t so easy to latch onto; nearly every phrase gets its own life, performed with such gusto that everything is constantly magnified. They ad-lib each other’s bars and cut in unexpectedly. Each sentence ends emphatically with an exclamation point. Even as they settle into a routine, honing their execution in the process, there is still a spontaneity to their songcraft. At every turn, one of the three is popping up and making their presence felt.
Migos owned 2017, but the most improved artist on QC has been Lil Yachty. Control the Streets, Vol. 1 is a much his showcase as anyone else’s. On the keyboard-flickering “Holiday” he likens randomly paying someone’s rent to gifting them an extra vacation, each full-throated exclamation inducing further celebration. “Movin’ Up,” a team-up with Ty Dolla $ign, adds an sweet, airy falsetto to Yachty’s bubblegum range. He’s right in his wheelhouse for the Young Thug duet “On Me,” which returns to playhouse synths and melodies; he’s clumsy where Thug is graceful, but that juxtaposition is the whole point. His writing still has room to improve, but it’s becoming far less grating as he continues to practice, and there are more memorable zingers like “If my diamonds had a voice it would sound like Fantasia” or “Flex so hard had to invest in fitness.”
Other Quality Control signees get their spotlight moments: Lil Baby gives a taste of his Too Hard mixtape on “Sides,” City Girls make a snappy first impression with the MajorNine-produced “Fuck Dat Nigga,” and Kollission’s “Space Cadet” lives up to its title. These exhibitions are scattered throughout the tracklist on Vol. 1, but never seem out of place among songs from the stars, in part because of consistently compelling beats. The production features many of the usual suspects working in trap circles—808 Mafia co-founder Southside, Murda Beatz, Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E., and Ricky Racks, especially—but it’s more of a showcase for in-house beatmaker Quay Global, frequent Yachty producers Digital Nas and EarlthePearll, Migos’ DJ Durel, and even Quavo. Some are wonky and others are straight boomers. Minor key flexers are offset by foamy delights, thanks in large part to Yachty and his crew. Highly technical arrays give way to rich, Auto-Tuned melodies. Everyone does their part. This is the compilation of a label with a clear vision and the personnel to execute. The Quality Control annual report is in, and the forecast looks bright.
