Offset has acknowledged his progressive journey to adulthood on several occasions: interviews, social media postings, you name it. But he's never shown himself to be quite this vulnerable in the past.
On the intro track of his solo debut, Offset recruits a solemn voice to usher in his message: the sordid relationship he's cultivated with his four children, all of whom were conceived with different mothers. Therein lies the reason tooth he has fought so hard to preserve his holy matrimony, even in the face of devilish temptation.
The solemn voice that Offset enlists on "Father of 4" might ring a bell for the casual listener. Big Rube is, after all, a rapper/personality who has lent his voice to many iconic interludes and skits currently resting in the Dungeon Family vault. You might recall hearing Rube's husky voice on "General Patton" signaling an end to Big Boi's onward march. You might also remember his welcoming voice on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, when he undertook the role of an air traffic controller.
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Thankfully, Rube doesn't go at it alone. Once his great oration comes to an end, Offset jumps aboard to make a makeshift song out of Rube's spoken word intro - after which he plunges into verse, imploring the institution of family, in the least nuclear of terms. By that token, "Father of 4" reads like an open letter to his children, one they will only fully understand once they come of age.
"I was 17 years old when I had you (When I had you)
Tryna find my soul when I had you (When I had you)
I was oh so broke when I had you (When I had you)
Locked up down the road when I had you (When I had you)
Jordan, sorry I wasn't there for all your birthdays
I tried to hit, I wasn't rich, and had no workplace
My son Kody, he three, rappin' already like me
Ridin' in the car, you don't play me, then he gon' scream."
Even though Offset shows buyer's remorse throughout the song, you get a sense he's ready those wrongs. The Migos rapper shows plenty of gratitude for women in his life, his mother, grandmother, and even his baby mothers, as well as his four children: Jordan, Kody, Kalea, and bb Kulture, all of whom figure as models on FATHER OF 4's cover.
