Quavo drops 'QRÖMELIFE', Pharrell produced every track, and Offset shows up for the first time in five years
The 14-track album landed October 2 with one of the year's most stacked guest lists, a stadium-sized sound Pharrell pushed him toward, and a Quavo-Offset reunion that doubles as a preview of a final Migos album built around Takeoff's posthumous vocals.
In brief
Quavo's 'QRÖMELIFE' is out, and Pharrell built the whole thing
October 2 hit different for Atlanta hip-hop. Quavo dropped QRÖMELIFE, his third solo album and, by a wide margin, the most ambitious thing he has put his name on since Migos stopped moving as a unit. The 14-track project landed through Quality Control Music and Universal Music Group. His first solo effort since 2023's Rocket Power, it is produced entirely by Pharrell Williams and features T.I., Future, Offset, Tyler the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Lil Baby, Yung Miami, and Justin Timberlake.
That is a lot of names. But the story is really about two of them.
Pharrell took over the boards completely
The full Pharrell production credit is a genuine first for Quavo's solo catalog. According to Hot 97, Williams urged him to "go bigger and try to make stadium music," which pushed the tracklist toward a blend of experimental soundscapes, house rhythms, and expansive melodies well outside the traditional trap lane.
The Source reports that the sessions ran for more than 18 months and spanned locations including Louis Vuitton headquarters in Paris and a yacht in Miami. The rollout actually started at Pharrell's Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2027 Men's Show in Paris, where lead single "HAAVIN" debuted live. Quavo wrote in a September statement, "I appreciate my big brother Pharrell for guiding me and pushing me creatively at a time when I needed it."
The result is something hard to predict from either man's résumé. Fresh off Clipse's 2025 comeback, the Louis Vuitton creative director holed up with Quavo to make every beat on the album, and Apple Music's editorial notes describe the outcome as the most upbeat and experimental record of Quavo's solo career, bridging classic funk with Down South rap.
The Offset feature is the moment everyone is talking about
A standout moment on the album is "Away," which features Offset. Hot 97 notes this is the first time the two surviving members of Migos have appeared on a song together since Culture III in 2021.
Five years is a long time, and the backstory makes the track land harder. The relationship between the Migos members had already been strained before Takeoff's death, with tensions between Quavo and Offset widely reported. In an interview with Idea Generation, Quavo pointed to Takeoff's death as the turning point. "It threw out all the things that I was upset about or that we had friction about," he said, careful to note he can only speak for himself.
Last weekend, Quavo threw a surprise, first-come, first-served listening session in Los Angeles. Midway through, Offset showed up and stood beside him as "Away" played. According to Complex, it was the first time anyone had heard the two on a new song together in five years.
The rest of the guest list has surprises too
DancehallMag flagged the most unexpected cut before the album even dropped: a song called "Baby Breath" that puts Pharrell, Tyler the Creator, and A$AP Rocky on the same record. Nobody saw that one coming. The album also marks the first collaboration ever between Quavo and Tyler, and Quavo's first link-up with Rocky since 2017's "RAF."
Then there is "House Music" featuring Justin Timberlake. Paired with Pharrell's name at the top of the credits, DancehallMag wrote, it hints that Quavo is reaching well beyond the trap sound that made him famous.
T.I. shows up on "Backwards," which Quavo premiered live at WWE's Sunday Night Main Event in Atlanta. That is a specific kind of rollout energy.
A final Migos album is confirmed, with Takeoff's voice on it
The album itself is only part of what Quavo announced this week. He told DJ Greg Street of V-103 that Migos would return with a tour and a new album, and later confirmed the album would be a final Migos project with Offset that would include posthumous vocals from Takeoff.
Complex reports Quavo frames the plan as a tribute: a final chapter for the group built around grief, faith, family, and Takeoff's previously recorded material.
The Source notes that a short film released alongside QRÖMELIFE addresses Quavo's grief following Takeoff's death while pointing toward moments of triumph and moving forward.
Meanwhile, the album runs 37 minutes and 35 seconds across its 14 tracks, so Quavo kept things tight. No bloat. The closing track is called "Destined." At the Los Angeles listening session, Apple Music's editorial write-up notes, Offset stood beside Quavo as "Away" played, a small but significant gesture for the long-estranged cousins.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
