“I can’t take no vacations, I can’t lose.”
From October 2014 through February 2016 there hadn’t been a busier artist in hip hop than Future. The amount of music produced by the Atlanta superstar is the stuff of legend now, releasing seven projects in a 17 month span. Though Future was enjoying the most success he has as an artist there were worries of whether he had begun to oversaturate the market with his music. Was he beginning to wear thin on his listeners? Were his stories still as interesting the fifth, sixth, and seventh time around? After a full year of not releasing music, but still touring for four months with Drake on the “Summer Sixteen Tour,” the highest grossing rap tour of all time, it seemed like Future was starting to fadeaway from the spotlight. Maybe he finally was taking a break from releasing music, being able to bask in one of the most prolific two year runs hip hop has seen. That wasn’t quite the case.
On December 28th, Future released the video to “Buy Love,” a throwaway song that served as a reminder that Future was still here, and a sign of more music to come potentially. The next day he would release a video to “That’s a Check,” featuring Rick Ross and in late January he would release the visuals to “Poppin Tags.” You had the feeling there was something big on the horizon.
And there was something big, the release of the self-titled album FUTURE. A 17 track album with no features is an ambitious move for anybody, let alone a rapper who has been on a run of epic proportions. Where an album of this length can often struggle with direction and lack oxygen at times Future returns here sounding rejuvenated, hungrier than ever. Where on last year’s EVOL he may have sounded fatigued from the sheer amount of work he had been putting in, he sounds livelier than ever on his fourth studio album. The album starts off with high energy with the banger “Rent Money,” following in the steps of 2015’s DS2 intro “Thought It Was a Drought,” with braggadocious lyrics about sleeping with another rapper’s girl and how the money is coming in and the work is moving out the trap. Business is still booming for Future.
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While this album is more of the same subject matter that is expected from Future, there are some gems here and songs that give some insight into what makes Future tick. On “Outta Time,” Future details how he can’t take a break from working out of the fear of losing or being passed by, it’s insight into why he keeps producing music at such a rapid fire pace. “Mask Off,” might very well be the best song Metro Boomin and Future have produced to date, which is impressive if you take a look back at their already impressive catalog of songs together. The hollowing flute in the background is reminiscent of “Monster,” the song that arguably kicked off this unprecedented run by Future and launched Metro into superstardom. “Im So Groovy,” is flexing at its finest, the “mhmmm” ad-libs in the background are perfect and infectious. You will find yourself repeating it even when you don’t want to. There also isn’t a more honest song on the album than “When I Was Broke,” is a ballad to his significant other that stuck with him through his trials and tribulations, the struggles and hard times. Most of the production here is handled by the producers that helped craft Future’s sound during this run, Metro Boomin, Southside, Zaytoven Tarentino, and DJ Spinz. But the biggest winner here is DY of 808 Mafia, who has production credits on “Super Trapper,” “High Demand,” and “Massage in My Room.”
FUTURE isn’t the perfect album. It can be a bit long and the album doesn’t really pick up until “Draco,” which is the fourth track on the album. What the album does accomplish though is it brings Hendrix back to the forefront of hip hop. Where people questioned whether he was still one of the hottest rappers in the game, this was a resounding yes. Future is going back on the road in May for the “Nobody Safe Tour,” with no break in sight. Future has to make the most of his time at the top. In Hip-Hop the fans will love you wben you are hot and can turn on you overnight. Nobody’s run lasts forever, no matter who you are. In his own words, he can’t be running out of time.
Kameron Hay 