By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quavo has spent much of his career setting trends. These days, he’s more focused on what will last.
The Grammy-nominated rapper is moving forward with fatherhood, healing and a sense of purpose. Now a father to a daughter, he says that growth is at the heart of his new album “QRÖMELIFE,” out Friday. The 14-track offering is executive produced by Pharrell Williams, who Quavo says helped him tune out the noise and return to the melodic instincts that made him a defining voice with the rap group Migos.
The album features appearances from Justin Timberlake, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, Future and Lil Baby. It also reunites Quavo with Offset after the two repaired their relationship following a public falling out in 2022 and grew closer in the years since the death of Quavo’s nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff.
“QRÖMELIFE” arrives as Quavo and Takeoff’s 2022 “Hotel Lobby” performance fuels a flood of AI-generated videos featuring everyone from Barack and Michelle Obama and Spider-Man to soccer stars Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham — even dogs and cats.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Quavo spoke about the meaning behind “QRÖMELIFE,” how Pharrell helped him tune out the algorithm, the viral resurgence of “Hotel Lobby” and a new Migos project.
Remarks have been edited for brevity.
AP: What does “QRÖMELIFE” mean to you? What does that actually look like as a lifestyle?
QUAVO: When it comes to a lifestyle, it’s a way of life. When you get up, got to go to work every day, and something happened in your life, but you still have to go hit that nine-to-five, you come in qrome. That’s your qrome state.
I feel like God put you through those states to make you qrome. It’s in your chromosomes. … Everybody go through ups and downs, but what’s gonna make you come out strong? What’s gonna make you come out qrome?
AP: You talked about becoming a father changing “the motive to the mission.” How has fatherhood changed you?
QUAVO: You got mouths to feed. You got little people of yours that look up to you. What you gonna do to add or take away from what you didn’t learn from your parents, or what you didn’t have?
For instance, I didn’t have a dad. So me being a father, it’s important to me because my dad died when I was 4 … I just want to be there the whole step of the way.
AP: What did Pharrell bring out of you while making this album?
QUAVO: Just to challenge my versatility. The “Stir Fry” Quavo, the “Congratulations” Quavo, the “Apeshit” Quavo.
You master that with one of the greatest producers of all time. … Sometimes the student passes the mentor. But in this case, it’s still light-years. I gotta catch up to him from a business standpoint.
AP: “Hotel Lobby” has become this huge AI phenomenon. Did you ever imagine you and Takeoff standing in that orange room, sharing one microphone, would become this viral moment four years later?
QUAVO: I just look at it as God. Losing (Takeoff), I just know that he’s in a better place. And then coming through it at a time like this, the week before I’m rolling out my album. … Then this hit.
It just let me know like, “Bro, I’m here. I’m here with you. I got you.”
The viralness of it made me feel like it was something bigger than just a click of a button or internet sensation. Everybody just started doing it, man. From the corporate of the corporate down to the streets.
I’m proud of it. I thank you for keeping my brother and his name alive.
AP: Some fans love the videos. Others feel uncomfortable seeing AI manipulate Takeoff’s image after his death. Where is the line for you between celebrating his legacy and going too far?
QUAVO: You can’t control it. I can’t spend all day trying to find someone that got a phone in their hand or sitting behind a desk. It don’t help me mentally. Don’t help me emotionally.
When I see it, I just say, “All right,” and go by it. You just got to be strong to be able to look at stuff and move on.
AP: You’ve talked about eventually doing one final Migos project. What would another Migos album mean to you now?
QUAVO: It means the world to me. Obviously, we miss one, and it won’t be the same without him.
I’ve been honored to be his uncle since the age of 3. So just having that relationship with him and knowing how he move and think, I kind of feel like he’s in my body.
I talk to him about it. Be like, “I don’t want to do it if you ain’t got the vision for it.”
I know I can take the music that he got and get the Migos album ready. It just depends on how we want to honor the legacy. Because I want this music to benefit us and the estate.
AP: When you and Offset work on Migos music now, how do you make something that still feels like all three of you?
QUAVO: We’re cooking right now, and the chemistry is always gonna be there. We always learned to do four, five, six songs dolo and bring them to each other. But right now, we’re just dumping the bags and seeing what we can put together.
AP: Has the work you’ve done through the Rocket Foundation helped you process your own grief?
QUAVO: It helped me just realize that this could happen to anyone. You would feel some type of way, but you don’t feel it till it hit home.
And when it hit home, I thought when it got to me everybody is gonna stop. But it still kept going.
You can go into a hole and not do nothing, or you can stand up and try to change and do something.
Seeing other families go through what I go through, I feel like I’m turning into this superhero to be a therapist to a family where I need a therapist.