It’s common to hear rappers brag about how they’ll stay up all night working on their craft, but after listening to his recently released self-titled album, it’s clear that Future isn’t exaggerating about his work ethic. In a recent Twitter Q&A, Future revealed that when he and fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug hit the studio together, they will often stay up all night and record at least ten songs.
Following 2016’s gold-certified “EVOL,” the 34-year-old rapper’s fifth studio album, “Future,” is a clear sign that he has honed in on what he’s best at and worked on what he’s not. On the album he raps about cars, women and drugs while he avoids pushing his vocals by only singing on two tracks.
Just like previous records, “Future” is full of references to the copious amounts of Xanax and high grade Molly he consumes, comparisons of foreign cars to women, and buying just about everything in his sight. Tracks like “Good Dope” and “Scrape” are reminiscent of Future’s sophomore album, “Honest,” which dissects the ins and outs of trapping in East Atlanta.
Unlike his earlier albums, Future is rapping over much better beats that make his flow smoother than ever before. With the likes of legendary producers Zaytoven, Southside, 808 Mafia and Metro Boomin’ laying down the beats, the production on this record might be of higher quality than of any of his previous works. While the first half of the record emphasizes the beats and production, the arrangements on the second half provide a nice contrast that make you focus on the song’s lyrics.
After listening to this album, it’s clear that Future worked hard to earn his fortune and there’s no way in hell that he’s ever going to lose it. “Rent Money” and “POA” chronicle the long and winding road he had to take before achieving his current level of success. But no song better captures his continuous work ethic than “Outta Time,” where he describes his obsessive spending habits as motivation to maintain his status and wealth by saying, “I can’t take no vacations, I can’t lose.”
He also believes that he’s the real deal. On “Draco,” the best song on the record, Future expresses his frustration with rappers who “front,” or act tough just to put on a persona that fits the identity of a trap-style rapper. This frustration stems from the fact that he actually did have to sell drugs to pay rent. Rappers who front on this are just disrespecting the hardships he and so many others had to go through.
At first glance, putting 17 tracks on this album might seem as if Future is just throwing out a bunch of songs in hope that a few of them become hits, but they also paint a telling picture of the man behind the songs.
None of the album’s 17 tracks feature guest singers which indicates that Future believes in his ability to produce a hit record under his own power. Although he has never been short on self-confidence, this record shows that Future has reached a new level of fortitude. Comparing himself to Jesus on “High Demand” and completely disregarding copycat rappers on “Zoom” are just a few of the instances where Future reveals that he truly believes that he’s the best rapper alive.
Follow Zach on Twitter: @Zach_Price24
Review: Future’s self-titled album paints a picture of his hard life and obsessive spending habits
Zach Price
February 24, 2017
0
More to Discover