Future Changes Up His Flow In "FUTURE"

If you've read our previous hip-hop reviews and just so happened to come across a mention of Future, chances are it wasn't all that positive. Truth us, I've personally gotten sick of Future after his constant flow that never failed to sound the same as everything else he has ever released. He dropped his seventh album, the self-titled FUTURE, out of the blue today, and it's surprisingly fresh. He's actually changing up his flow.

The album immediately begins on a more familiar note, though, in 'Rent Money' with his familiarly themed instrumental and flow. His gravely voice flies above a choir loop and dark hip-hop trap beat. The instrumental is pretty okay as far as Future goes, and he does actually have some expressiveness in his voice, which is refreshing to hear. The bars are pretty good as well. 'Draco' has similar qualities, having a pretty cool instrumental that contrasts the deep beats Future loves to use.

We can't give this album a full pass, though, because there are some truly awful moments on this record. The ad-libs are pretty generous on this record, thankfully, but things do get out of hand. I'm talking about 'Scrape,' which has a never-ending loop of Future "skrting" in every single bar. There may be about ten seconds in this song that don't have that in them. Not only is it annoying in principle, but just the fact he has to say it in such a stupid way makes it that much worse. Skits are also present in the album, and while some don't really affect the quality of the songs, the ending of 'Zoom' is just pure stupid.

That being said, there are also a lot of unique moments on this record that you wouldn't expect to hear from Future. Instrumentally, there are a lot of creative moments on the record that really stand out. 'POA' has a really ominous and driven loop going on it, and Future's delivery isn't only empowering (self-empowering, at least), but also really punchy and confident. If all Future songs were as hype as this one sounds, I wouldn't have to complain so much. Similar hype is achieved in the 8-bit instrumental of 'Poppin' Tags.' This song just goes off, Future sounding angry as he sets fire to everything he opposes in this track.

The vibes on this record are very solid. 'Super Trapper' starts off ominously, but that kicks into a darker beat with Future sounding somewhat inconvenienced by the conditions he's facing. It's not the same boring flow, so I'll give it to him. The entire song just has a wavy vibe to it, not necessarily pessimistic in tone, but more like a lowkey celebration that the hard times are behind. The pretty, poppier instrumental of 'When I Was Broke' makes for a really nice listen that's not really characteristic of Future up until now. It's really interesting to hear this side of Future, as he even delivers some solid bars atop the flowing pianos.

Future changes up his flow in FUTURE big time, and it's really nice to hear. After having little to nothing good to say about Future over the last few years, he's finally provided something that's not shadowed in his previously never-changing flow. It's not a full departure and there are still moments I can't get behind, but over all it's a real improvement from his past works. The future is looking good for Future.

Favorite Tracks: POA, When I Was Broke, Poppin' Tags

Least Favorite Tracks: Scrape, Zoom

Rating: 74 / 100