Evan Nabavian.is a regular at Magic City Mondays.
On April 18, police showed up at a Migos concert at Georgia Southern University and arrested the group and their entourage for having guns and lean on them. The arrest swept up a decent contingent of Atlanta rap, including Offset, Takeoff, and Quavo of Migos as well as Skippa da Flippa and Rich the Kid. Takeoff and Quavo were released on bond and Skippa was released last week, but Offset and Rich remain incarcerated. Ironically or not, Migos and Rich dropped a joint mixtape in May called Still on Lock. Almost every trap rapper with any buzz makes an appearance, but Rich, with his high-pitched iteration of the Migos flow, is the clear star.
Rich The Kid is the cure for Migos fatigue. He raps like he has something to prove and he writes catchier hooks than the usual repetitive bludgeoning. His cadence recalls Meek Mill — shrill and volatile — but his subject matter is uncomplicated street shit, even more so than Meek. “No Time” and “What You Been Doin” are geared toward the local strip club economy, not national audiences. He has a special affinity for frenetic drum programming from Sonny Digital and Cassius Jay. His videos show a wiry, babyfaced youth who loves the camera and can’t stand still for more than a few seconds. But in iLoveMakonnen’s “No Ma’am” video, he’s replaced by a “Free Rich The Kid” hashtag.
