Mixtape Future Is The Best Version Of Future

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Getty Image/Merle Cooper

Future is currently the most hard-working artist in hip-hop. After releasing two albums produced by Metro Boomin this year, We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You, he’s returning to the well one more time with Mixtape Pluto.

For some fans, it’s the best of the three, for the same reason that the paired projects marked a return to form for Future in the minds of many longtime fans. Mixtape Pluto calls back to one of the most productive and fan-revered eras of the veteran trap rapper’s career.

Of course, I am referring to the Future era in which he released no fewer than five standout projects from 2014 to 2016. Beginning with the DJ Esco-hosted mixtape Monster and including Beast Mode with Zaytoven, 56 Nights with DJ Esco, What A Time To Be Alive with Drake, and, of course, DS2, and ending arguably with 2016’s Purple Reign and Evol, Future’s 2015 run was rivaled only by a few in hip-hop, and all of them are titans of the culture.

During this time, he released 10 platinum-selling singles, including some of his most beloved festival hype DJ playlist favorites, like “March Madness” “Jumpman” with Drake, and “Low Life” with The Weeknd. These time may not have produced his highest-charting, but it began Future’s string of multi-platinum hits (beginning with “F*ck Up Some Commas” from DS2 at No. 55) and it contains the densest concentration thereof (peaking with “Low Life” with eight certifications).

Unlike prior albums Pluto and Honest, and latter albums like Hndrxx, High Off Life, or even his Metro Boomin collabs, this success was driven by Future’s gritty solo charisma, with much less of the focus on melodizing his heartbreak. Instead, he growled dismissive dispatches from the depths of his hedonistic excesses, going out of his way to shoot down any suggestion of soulful introspection or simping.

He also needed little in the way of featured artistry to fuel his ascent. While Future himself was a hotly demanded guest star on works from other artists, including DJ Khaled, Mike Will Made It, Travis Scott, Ty Dolla Sign, and 21 Savage, the only collaborations of his from 2015 to chart were those from What A Time, a collaborative album, while “Low Life” with The Weeknd was the biggest hit he had to feature another artist in 2016.

He was at the height of his powers — which you could argue he most strongly taps into on his other mixtapes. Mixtape Pluto might not only apply to 2015 and 2016; it might also refer to his street-bred beginnings with tapes like the original Dirty Sprite or collaborative efforts like Super Slimey with Young Thug or Beast Mode 2 with Zaytoven.

The new tape indeed does find Future going solo for its 17 tracks. There’s a mixture of producers, but all of them provide vintage 808 and skittering snares — exactly the sort of backdrop over which the Atlanta native thrives. The hypnotic, chant-like choruses? They’re represented here on tracks like “Lil Demon” and “Aye Say Gang.” The rapping is as crisp as it’s ever been. And for those fans who love wounded Future, there are a few standouts like “Too Fast” and “Lost My Dog.”

Which is why Mixtape Pluto is hitting all the right notes with those fans who’ve been following him all this time. Future — an artist with roots that reach back to Atlanta’s initial epoch in the rap mainstream with Outkast and Dungeon Family — has transformed dozens of times over the course of his career, but the form he always seems to return to is the one that has the most potential to go anywhere and everywhere else. Mixtape Future is the best Future, because like the future, the possibilities are endless.

Future Drops “Rotation” Music Video To Celebrate Nine Years Of “DS2”

Future is one of the defining rappers of his generation. He may not have the pedigree of the Big Three, but his consistency is something to be marveled at. He took Lil Wayne’s work ethic and coated it with his own codeine-laced style. Fans continue to debate which Future tape is best, but there’s no denying that Dirty Sprite 2 is his most iconic. It’s the album in which he put everything together. It rebranded him in a way that he’s still benefiting from today. Future knows how beloved DS2 is, and he gave fans a surprise release for the album’s tenth anniversary.

Future released a music video for the album cut “Rotation” on July 18. The rapper doesn’t really mince words when it comes to his rollouts, so he kept brief in the caption. “Unreleased, 9years later,” he wrote on Instagram. “DS2 PLUTO back.” It’s not clear if Future meant that DS2 Pluto was back for the sake of the anniversary, or if the aesthetic and vibe of DS2 Pluto would be returning for his next album. Either way, we’re happy to see him again. The music video for “Rotation” is predictably grimy, with the rapper walking around a gas station with a double cup. It looks like it was shot in a single night, which was part of the appeal of DS2‘s DIY approach.

Read More: Future Promises He Won’t Sleep Until His New Mixtape Is Done

Future Shot The Music Video Back In 2015

DS2‘s reputation is bulletproof these days, even among non-Future fans. That being said, Southside was nervous about the album’s direction when it was being made. “We were nervous,” the producer admitted to Complex in 2020. “It was a new sound and a new swag… [the fans] were accepting everything and we didn’t want to miss. We had to make sure it was right.” Southside produced six tracks on the OG version of DS2, and four more on the deluxe. Fittingly, Southside’s favorite memory from the DS2 sessions was making “Rotation.”

Southside claimed that he and Metro Boomin made the beat right in front of Future’s eyes. To make the whole thing more impressive, Future laid down his verse in even less time than it took to make the music. “He really rapped everything that was going on in the room,” the producer recalled. “He really bought all the sodas at the gas station. [Future] rapped everything that was going on. It was just funny. I’m like, ‘This man’s crazy.’” Crazy or not, the process worked, and now we have a music video for it.

Read More: Why Are Future & Metro Boomin Canceling Tour Dates This Summer?

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Future’s “Thought It Was A Drought” Remains A Top-Tier Metro Boomin Collab 9 Years Later

Dirty soda, Spike Lee / White girl, Ice T / Fully loaded AP, yeah“. These lyrics are synonymous with Future’s “I Thought It Was a Drought”. Woozy and intoxicating, the intro to his third album is one of the most iconic trap rap songs, period. The same can be said for the 13-song set. It perfectly kicks off the druggy and lean-filled trip that Future is about to send you on. This LP was released right around the time that he broke through into superstardom and it further solidified his chemistry with Metro Boomin. The latter was also considered a bubbling talent waiting to explode and when this track and project released, it was game over from there.

Post DS2, the Southern hip-hop/trap tandem is still producing top-notch material in these subgenres. That is even with all of the newcomers who have tried to recapture their magic in some shape or form. In fact, they are still in the upper echelon this year after giving fans a two-fer with WE DON’T TRUST YOU and WE STILL DON’T TRUST TOU. Speaking of which, those projects have some incredible Future and Metro works. But for us, “Thought It Was a Drought” manages to stand stall amongst the trees. The thick kicks, blistering hi-hats, and ghoulish tones looming the back are instantly recognizable. Future’s cool demeanor while rapping about drugs, sex, and the traditional trap fare instantly transport you to his world.

Read More: Chief Keef Postpones “A Lil Tour” Over “Medical Emergency”

“Thought It Was A Drought”- Future

Quotable Lyrics:

I just had some b****es and I made ’em lip lock
I just took a piss and I seen codeine coming out
We got purple Actavis, I thought it was a drought
I just f***ed your b**** in some Gucci flip flops

Read More: Bobby Shmurda Puts Rick Ross On Blast For Kicking Him Off Show Over Jumping Jokes

The post Future’s “Thought It Was A Drought” Remains A Top-Tier Metro Boomin Collab 9 Years Later appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Future Announced A Career-Spanning Limited Edition Vinyl Collection Filled With Notable Albums & Mixtapes

Future has unveiled a treat for his biggest fans in the form of a new, limited-edition vinyl collection that spans his entire career (so far). This will include nine albums and mixtapes that will be split up into various drops.

The first is set to arrive on October 20 and will include Future’s Pluto, DS2, and Super Slimey. The vinyl releases will then continue for two weeks following.

On October 27, he will release vinyl copies of Monster, Beast Mode, and 56 Nights.

Finally, on November 3, fans can grab Purple Reign, Future, and Hndrxx. According to a press release, they are planning on the records selling out and encourage fans to pre-order to secure their Future albums.

“If I was a role model, I wouldn’t want them to do the same exact thing that I’m doing, because the sh*t that I do is one of none,” Future previously shared about his career during an interview with Billboard. “You can take certain things about me, and you can use it to help you to maneuver in life, to help progress and elevate. But using everything that I do — or just following every step — is going to be hard because I think I’m one of none.”

Pre-order Future’s career-spanning vinyl collection here.

Fans Think A New Potential COVID Variant Resembles Future’s ‘DS2’ Cover

One thing about rap fans: We will get these jokes off — no matter the target. Even COVID-19, the virus that has completed upended the normal workings of society for the past two years, isn’t safe. Thanks to a news outlet’s tweet of a mutant variant of the virus — a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants dubbed, naturally, “Deltacron” — folks on Twitter are comparing the image to the cover of a fan-favorite trap album.

While the computer-generated images of the COVID-19 coronavirus floating around are mostly just simulated magnifications of what the virus would look like under a powerful microscope, CTV News’ choice of color scheme and the shape of the mutant strain resemble nothing so much as the cloudy, Rorschach-like splotches on Future’s DS2 cover. So, it didn’t take long for fans to spot the resemblance and turn the new strain into the butt of plenty of jokes playing on the album’s title, themes, and lyrics.

“You know we talk that sick talk, that sick talk,” joked one fan over a post that added the DS2 title card to the Deltacron image. “I just took a piss and I seen COVID coming out,” cracked another.

All jokes aside, it looks like we can chalk the so-called Deltacron variant up to a lab error, just like another purported super strain, “Flurona.” For now, it looks like we don’t have to worry about any fusion variants, because the original recipe is still nasty enough. They say laughter is the best medicine, though, so feel free to check out some more of the fans’ jokes and give yourself your daily dose of chuckles below.