I am a huge fan of Future’s music. Psychedelic rap — and psychedelic trap, more specifically — is one of my favorite genres, and I have always enjoyed the synergy between his raspy, smoky voice and the wavy, spacy beats of the myriad of producers he has worked with over the years: DJ Esco, Southside and Zaytoven, among others. And he is a cornerstone of Atlanta — and Southeast — hip-hop, which I take pride in.
Yet, even I will admit, the 2020s have not been the best to Future so far. “High Off Life,” his 2020 album, was solid, but “Pluto x Baby Pluto,” his joint record with Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert, and “I NEVER LIKED YOU,” his most recent solo project, were OK at best.
It is sad to see because Future’s prime, in my opinion, is one of the best runs in modern hip-hop. “DS2,” or “Dirty Sprite 2,” is regarded as a signature trap album, and rightly so, but “Monster,” his 2014 mixtape, has always been my favorite of his projects. Regardless, it is truly unreal how good the vast majority of the music he put out in the early to mid-2010s is. There are dozens and dozens of songs that, years and years later, still hold up.
Now, two years after “I NEVER LIKED YOU,” he is back, with Metro Boomin, whose dark, ominous sound may very well have solidified him as the best working trap producer — and whose 2022 album, “HEROES & VILLAINS,” is one of the most well-produced hip-hop records in recent memory.
The hype behind “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” was real. The biggest single on the project, “Cinderella,” leaked months ago, and Future, Metro Boomin and Travis Scott played the song at shows across the country leading up to the album’s release. The rapper-producer duo announced the record would be a two-part release: The first installment would have features; the second would not. The tracklist — for the first half of the project — includes 17 songs. This album is a big, big, big deal in the world of hip-hop.
And yet, it is just OK. It is not bad; it is solid. But if I am being honest, I wanted a little bit more out of these two, especially Future. Boomin’s production is good, as always, but it feels like Future is kind of out of it on a lot of his beats, which is frustrating.
This is not to say that the album is full of duds; there are a few bangers here and there.
“Cinderella,” although I think it, oddly enough, sounded better when it leaked, is still solid, and its laid-back vibe makes it a perfect late-night song. Future floats over its instrumental, and although Scott’s verse is not my favorite, I have a feeling that it will grow on me.
Other highlights on the record include “Type Sh*t,” which features Scott and Playboi Carti; “Like That,” which contains a great beat switch and verse from Kendrick Lamar; “Fried (She a Vibe)”; “WTFYM”; and “Everyday Hustle,” which features Rick Ross.
I am a fan of all six of those tracks, and two or three of those will probably stay in my rotation for the rest of the year. But when your project has 17 songs, 11 skips is not great.
Like the old cliché says, I am not mad; I am just disappointed. When you put a trap legend and one of the best producers — if not the best producer — in the genre together, you expect more than an average, down-the-middle album. But who knows? Maybe part two, feature-free and all, will be better.
