Future Review

On Feb. 17, 2017, the Atlanta-based rap superstar and innovator Future released his newest (and self-titled) album, “FUTURE.” This is Future’s fifth album, and is his first album lacking a feature. The album is a collection of beautiful production by Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, DJ Khaled, The Beat Bully and Southside, alongside the production from other members of 808 Mafia. The music seems to be the perfect party-type music; The album features songs as diverse as the fast-paced and catchy lyrics in “Flip” to the beautiful melody and hook of “Mask Off.” I personally don’t believe it’s Future’s best work, but it is certainly a refreshing project that dives deeper into the elements of modern rap.With the recent release of last year’s “Purple Reign,” “FUTURE” had a lot to live up too. In reality, it fell short, but by no means is it a bad album. The album’s vibe does suit Future well, and captures many different moods for each song. His raspy voice with the creative production creates interesting hooks and flows. However, the album did have a few very rough songs, where everything seemed to go wrong. “POA” is an example of this, as with its intense video game like production and frantic lyrics, it isn’t the most pleasant to the ear. Along with “POA,” “Poppin’ Tags” isn’t the greatest track either. It is an unnecessarily loud production and an unfitting flow.Despite the pitfalls of the album, there are a couple of outstanding tracks. “Scrape” captures a more ominous tone compared to the rest of the album, with well placed ad-libs and an interesting beat. By far, the best song on the whole album has to be “Mask Off.” This song features the best production and hook, albeit with relatively simplistic lyrics. The few verses it has get the job done, captivating the listener and creating a unique sound only Future could create.Although it’s not the greatest project Future has put out there, “FUTURE” could have certainly been worse. Hopefully next year Future can deliver a little more, but for the time being, “FUTURE” will entertain listeners, amp people up, and calm the listener down if need be.