Meet the Many Sides of Offset on 'KIARI'

Summary

• Offset has shared his third studio album entitled KIARI
• Features on the 18-track record come from Gunna, John Legend, Teezo Touchdown, Ty Dolla $ign, and more
• The project follows up 2023’s SET IT OFF and looks through a more introspective lens

It’s rare we ever see Offset in his bag, as the Migos rapper typically finds himself flaunting and flexing by way of braggadocious lyricism. His last studio album, SET IT OFF, which garnered solid support from the hip hop community, particularly leaned into this persona – an album clearly crafted by a rapper at a peak in his career. However, for his third studio album, Set is pivoting and instead looking inward for a highly personal and deeply introspective offering named after his birthname: KIARI. 

As hinted at in the trailer for the album, in which Offset is seen in a therapist’s office, KIARI focuses on his identity beyond just being a rapper. The braggadocio is still there, but it comingles directly with vulnerability and sharp, self-aware, soul-baring moments.

“KIARI is me. I challenged myself as an artist and really put it all into the music. I took my time putting this project together,” said Offset in a press statement. “I know who I am, and I hope the world gets to understand who KIARI is through this album.”

JID feature “Bodies” is one of those boastful cuts, a Drowning Pool and The Spirituals sampling, high-octane anthem that hears the first-time duo assert their ascendancy in the modern rap ether. Gunna, of course, hops on the album as well, offering up bars to a fan-favorite track, “Different Species.”

1. Enemies
2. Pills – ft. YoungBoy NBA
3. Professional
4. Back In That Mode – ft. YFN Lucci
5. Different Species – ft. Gunna
6. Bodies – ft. JID
7. Love You Down
8. Run It Up – ft. Key Glock
9. Set It Off
10. Folgers
11. All Of My Hoes
12. Calories
13. Checkmate (Smooth)
14. Backends Fasho
15. Prada Myself – ft. Teezo Touchdown
16. Never Let Go – ft. John Legend
17. Favorite Girl – ft. Ty Dolla $ign
18. Move On

Other samples on the project include Nina Simone and INOJ, making KIARI a masterclass in pairing sleek, trap production with confessional lyricism and an intentional hint of nostalgia.

Bolstered by additional features from YoungBoy Never Broke Again on “Pills,” Ty Dolla $ign on “Favorite Girl,” Key Glock on “Run It Up,” YFN Lucci on “Back In That Mode,” and Teezo Touchdown on “Prada Myself.”

John Legend also contributes to a particular high point on the album, “Never Let Go,” a track that pays homage to Takeoff. Closing cut “Move On” is also a highlight, hearing Set address his relationship with Cardi B, repeating on the chorus, “I want to move on in peace.”

Leaning into his own duality as a person and a performer, KIARI is Offset’s first formal introduction to who he is underneath the fame.

Stream the album on all major platforms now.