Rocket Power: Quavo’s Tragedy into Triumph
Quavo’s album cover
Quavo has embarked on a journey of introspection in his new album launch, “Rocket Power.” While it’s been five years since his solo release, Rocket Power explores a tragedy into triumph for Quavo as this is his first solo project since Takeoff’s tragic death.
The LP embodies Quavo's emotional distress as it takes on a transformative yet hoisted approach toward his musical identity. Rocket Power is much more impactful as it resonates with a heavier meaning compared to his 2018 album, Quavo Hauncho. His words now carry a deeper connotation while each song from “Fueled Up” to “Greatness” represents memories, faith in God, and sticking by family through the loss of his nephew.
Throughout the album, Quavo details not only his emotional agony but the suffering others in his family have faced from Takeoff's death on songs like "Hold Me": "I just need you to hold me/ Listen and feel my heart closely.” The rapper’s body of work exemplifies true human experience as the emotional and mental pain of death can cause variations of grief. We get a feel of Quavo's vulnerability and unsteady mentality in the entirety of the album specifically in the track, "Rocket Power." He describes that he's “Thinking about my nephew while I'm rolling some trees/ Mama said she's crying, and she's crying in her sleep” representing a life without his nephew that he faces in his new reality.
While the heart of the project is Takeoff, listeners are surprised by his features in two of the songs, “Patty Cake” and “Back Where It Begins.” In “Narkedo Speaks”, pulled off of a Drink Champs Interview, Quavo allows his fans to also hear a glimpse of Takeoff as it reflects the legacy he became in the rap industry: "I ain't even have a plan B, I made myself not have a plan B on purpose/Just so I can fulfill my plan A."
The 18-track album also features Young Thug, Future, Hunxho, and BabyDrill. It is also obvious that Offset has no feature in the album, but while there are no mentions of Offset, Quavo’s “11:11” gives fans a hint about the status of their relationship since Takeoff's death. “5:30 Huncho and ‘Set [Offset] get up early and go out and get that bag together (‘Set) Who the f**k gonna put us together? Can’t nobody put this sh*t back together? So stay the f**k out of the middle ‘lil fella, we always’ gon be that, we fam’ forever (migo).” Even in “Greatness”, Quavo raps about the achievements of the Migos while referencing that the group could never be back together without Takeoff.