Offset Tries to Downplay Celebrity Drama and Return to Making Great Music on ‘Set It Off’

“Ask God why, I didn’t get an answer/Why I lose my brother to bullets/Why I lose my grandma to cancer,” Offset harmonizes on “Say My Grace.” Few could have imagined that the Atlanta artist who emerged as one-third of Migos a decade ago with “Versace,” reintroducing the concept of a rap group to the Zoomer generation, would settle uncomfortably into the role of husband to pop icon Cardi B, and become a target of internet gossip so pernicious that the phrase “Offset cheating” elicits thousands of Google search results dating back years. All of Offset’s controversies — Migos breaking up, his lawsuit against former label Quality Control Music, the tragic murder of Migos “brother” Takeoff last November, a heartbreaking rift with Migos’ Quavo that the two publicly squashed at 2023 BET Awards in June — have given the impression that he’s now better known for industry drama than the thrilling hip-hop that first brought him renown.

On Set It Off, Offset tries to shift the spotlight back to the music. Its opening track, “On the River,” which centers on a stirring sample of Kirby Lauryean’s retro-soul track “Black Leaves,” reveals that this hour-long album will be a much bigger and emphatic production than Offset’s solo debut, 2019’s Father of 4. Released while he was still with Migos, Father of 4 found him awkwardly negotiating celebrity intrigue and a serviceable amount of trap rhymes. The tone seemed unintentionally gloomy as he chafed under the dehumanizing aspects of viral notoriety. However, the handful of songs that crystallized his ideas, particularly on the underrated deep cut “Red Room” where he criticizes cops and establishment figures and painfully recalls his street exploits, made sifting through Father of 4’s uneven qualities worth the effort.

Set It Off is a much more confident solo project. The 31-year-old sounds hungry and driven to prove his relevance beyond Migos and Cardi B, even as she and Offset join forces on two tracks. The first collab, “Freaky,” flails on a clumsy and middling chorus. But the second, “Jealousy,” sparkles with energy as Cardi drops her inimitable Bronx cadence over a sample of Three 6 Mafia’s “Jealous Ass Bitches.” Other solid cameos abound, including Latto on “Fine as Can Be” — she drills into her verse as she raps, “I’m big dog, you bitches is runts” — YRN protégé Mango Foo on “Skyami,” Young Nudy on “Dope Boy,” and Future on “Broad Day.” “Princess Cut,” a melodic duet with Chlöe Bailey that’s all about “fucking and stroking,” may scandalize some listeners. Still, there’s a sense that everyone is working hard here.

One name noticeably absent from Offset’s party is Quavo. “Man, I feel alone but this how it gotta be,” Offset admits on “Night Vision,” a key track with a strong chorus (“Night vision/I can see the opps when they hide”) that reunites him with Atlanta super-producer Metro Boomin. Then, Offset adds, “Man I wouldn’t be lying if I say I miss the three/Nights I wanted to cry, why them n*gg*s blaming me?” More than just an acknowledgement that the wounds surrounding Migos’ breakup haven’t fully healed, it also suggests that he’s still trying to define himself as an individual and not just one-half of a famous couple or one-third of an innovative group. At times, he sounds bitter over the negative press he’s endured, leading to tracks like “I’m On,” where he grumbles about industry “rats,” and “FAN” and its nihilist chorus, “Fuck them n*gg*s and them bitches, everybody.”

Eager to deliver a viable comeback, Offset relies on proven formulas. The Set It Off album art evokes any number of man-falling-in-the-sky imagery, particularly Metro Boomin’s Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Several of the tracks involve members of Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack camp, including rap singer Don Toliver (“Worth It”), producer/songwriter Douglas “Dougie F” Ford (seven cuts), and Scott himself (“Say My Grace”). The maximalist sound is fueled by a battery of producers who traffic in fan-friendly rap styles, like the bulbous West Coast-inspired bass of Daoud Anthony and Nick Papz’ “Broad Day,” the Xanned-out vibes of Dez Wright and Offset’s “Dissolve”; and the weepy acoustic strings of Don Mils, Offset, and Ojivolta’s “Healthy.” Meanwhile, save for a brief and intriguing homage to Project Pat on “FAN,” Offset insists on retaining his patented Migos flow. “N*gg*s still bitin’ my style, they can’t be too upset,” he claims on “Blame It on Set.”

Throughout, Offset seems conflicted about where his current path may lead. “Thought I’d feel much better when I’m wealthy,” he harmonizes on “Healthy,” only to contradict himself by adding, “Money don’t buy happiness, but I’ve been happy ever since.” As a representative of a modern production-by-committee rap album in 2023, Set It Off achieves a modest goal of being erratic yet diverting. It may even establish Offset as a solo star instead of just a former Migo. But does that matter if he knows he may never experience creative transcendence again?