Quavo talks new album, fatherhood, viral 'Hotel Lobby' and working on
Migos project with Offset
[October 02, 2026]
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
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.”
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Quavo poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Los
Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
 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.
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