Arguably, no two individuals have had more of an impact on Hip Hop over the last 15 years or so than Future and Metro Boomin. These two have pretty much transformed Hip Hop music, pushing Trap music to the forefront and the mainstream. Almost every rapper and producer that has emerged since 2010 has been influenced by Future or Metro Boomin in some way. They have created the blueprint for Trap music excellence, and everyone else who wants to make this kind of music has been trying to catch up to them. One of the best things about Future and Metro Boomin respectfully is how they have been able to change over time. These two have an amazing way of sticking to their roots while still staying adaptable. It seems like they are always trying to morph their sounds to fit the current Pop music landscape and are never afraid to experiment and try new things; this has always kept them ahead of the curve and has made it so none of their music has ever felt stale or aged poorly. Amazingly, as long as Future and Metro Boomin have been making popular music, it has felt like they are still getting better. Metro Boomin is still making some of the most riveting and innovative beats in Hip Hop today, and Future in recent years has sounded as engaged as ever. As good as their music has been individually, Future and Metro Boomin have made some of the best Trap music together in recent history. From the plethora of great tracks Metro Boomin has produced on the various Future albums of the years to the Future and Drake collaborative effort What A Time To Be Alive, it has felt like every time these two join forces, they make gold. This is why people were so excited when Future and Metro Boomin announced that they decided to make two albums together, both of which are scheduled to come on in the first half of this year. The first of these albums, WE DON’T TRUST YOU, has finally come out, much to the rejoice of Hip Hop fans around the world. With that being said, here is how I feel about WE DON’T TRUST YOU. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from this record, and also comment on how you feel about it as a whole.
One song into WE DON’T TRUST YOU and I am immediately hooked. If the whole album is like ‘We Don’t Trust You,’ this could easily be an album of the year. This song is epic and laid-back at the same time. The synths and piano riff that provide this melody are menacing and murky, but are also soothing in a way. I really love how the melody’s forcefulness fades and strengthens throughout the track. It makes this song feel so zestful, because it is tough to predict what is coming next. The beat for ‘We Don’t Trust You’ is similar to the melody in that it feels laid back and hard at the same time. Future’s performance in this song is excellent. His flow is perfect for this track, and the range that he sings with makes the song all the more exciting. ‘Young Metro,’ which features The Weeknd, is one of the many songs from this record that is emerging as an early fan favorite. Although I do not think this one is quite as strong as the opener, I can easily see its appeal. Like ‘We Don’t Trust You,’ this track has a foreboding and massive instrumental. The synths that drive this melody are squeaky clean and full of saturation, making them feel celestial. The way the beat is mixed is also robotic and squeaky, adding to the otherworldly feeling of the song. The vocal performances on ‘Young Metro’ are great as well. The flow Future raps with is so smooth and rhythmic, and the backing vocals from The Weeknd provide a cool texture I appreciate. ‘Ice Attack’ starts more laid back than the first two tracks. The instrumental for the first minute or so of this one is very subdued. It has a trippy and soft Melodic Trap sound that makes me feel like I’m levitating. Future’s rap performance during this section of ‘Ice Attack’ is as calm as the instrumental, adding to its light feeling. A minute or so into the track though, the beat picks up intensity and the melody becomes harsh and mean. Future’s rap performance during the second part of the track is a lot more commanding, with his hoarse vocal tone adding emphasis to the already abrasive sound. Speaking of abrasive and harsh, ‘Type Shit,’ which features Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, is as raucous as anything on the record. This one has a club banger written all over it. The bells that drive this melody are coarse and grating, giving the song a larger-than-life feeling. The beat on ‘Type Shit’ goes exceptionally hard, matching the energy of the instrumental. Future and Travis Scott sound great on ‘Type Shit,’ but Playboi Carti takes the track over the top. His low, growling vocals and off-kilter flow give the track a layer of power that it benefits from so much. ‘Claustrophobic’ is the first song on the project I don’t enjoy as much. It is not bad, by any means, but it definitely does not live up to the mighty feeling of the first few tracks. Frankly, ‘Claustrophobic’ is a bit sleepy to me. The melody and beat are alright, but nothing to write home about. Future’s performance is solid, but not even close to as riveting as his performances on the first four tracks. Maybe I’ll come back to this one and appreciate it more in the coming months, but right now it is not doing a whole lot for me.
We go from what may be the most boring track of the record in ‘Claustrophobic’ to what may be the most exciting one in ‘Type Shit,’ which features Kendrick Lamar. This song is taking over the internet right now, and it’s not tough to see why. For one, this instrumental is awesome. The shimmering synths and samples that drive the melody are so fun and dynamic, and the beat for this track is so punchy and tough. Future’s performance on ‘Type Shit’ is great, but Kendrick’s performance is what sets this track apart. Not only is his flow and vocal tone awesome, but his lyrics are legendary as well. Kendrick Lamar calls out Drake and J. Cole on ‘Type Shit,’ reigniting the belief between the trio and setting up the rap game for a great summer. I am positive that Drake and J. Cole will respond, and I can’t wait to see what they say because Kendrick goes in. ‘Slimed In,’ which features Young Thug(sort of), may not be getting a lot of hype now, but I could see it popping off in a few months; it has a ton of sleeper hit potential. Compared to the music before it, the melody that drives this instrumental is very bright and slimy. It has the kind of twinkling, saturated sound one would expect from a Future and Young Thug collaboration. The only thing that holds this one back for me is that there is not more Young Thug on it. Future is good on ‘Slimed In,’ but the track could use some more quirky Young Thug vocals. Regardless, this is an entertaining one that will get its due credit eventually. ‘Magic Don Juan(Princess Diana)’ is more prevalent for its title than its sound. The title supposedly refers to the woman Future and Drake have been fighting over(her name is Princess Diana on Instagram). As far as the sound of ‘Magic Don Juan(Princess Diana),’ it doesn’t grab me that much, unfortunately. Neither of the instrumental styles in this one(there’s a beat switch halfway through the track) is very engaging. The second half of the song is better than the first, but overall this one would be somewhat forgettable if it weren’t for the drama surrounding the title. ‘Cinderella,’ which features Travis Scott, is the lightest and sweetest song of the record so far. It is a breezy Pop-Trap track that is destined to be a hit because of how silky it is. This song is driven by airy and glittery synths that will make the listener feel like they are floating when this one comes on. The way these glimmery synths sit on this easy-going and low-key beat is so nice. ‘Cinderella’ has a very warm and welcoming sound that contrasts the harsher stuff on this record well. Future’s performance on this track is decent, but Travis Scott steals the show on ‘Cinderella.’ His deep and sultry tone creates a cool juxtaposition with the instrumental, and his smooth flow makes the track feel so all-encompassing.
For most of this record so far, apart from the opening track, I would say that the instrumentals hold more weight than the Future’s performances. Future has been solid on this project, but he has almost felt like a complement to the instrumentals. I would say that the roles are reversed in ‘Running Outta Time.’ Although the instrumental for this one is super entertaining and interesting, Future’s performance is what takes it over the top. ‘Running Outta Time’ is the most upbeat song on the record so far. This is a pretty fast-paced R&B Trap track that is bound to get anyone dancing when it comes on. The melancholy melody of this song emphasizes Future’s tone and flow so well. I love the range that Future sings with on ‘Running Outta Time.’ The emotion he sings with is palpable, making this the kind of ballad that reminds me of the music from his iconic album HNDRXX. ‘Fried(She a Vibe)’ feels like a total blast from the past when it comes to Future’s music. Everything about this track makes me think of the music Future got big in the early 2010s. When I hear this one, I immediately think of the music from albums like Pluto 3D or Honest. Particularly, this one has the energy of songs like ‘Turn Off The Lights’ or ‘Karate Chop.’ I could see younger Trap fans not appreciating this one as much because of how retro it sounds. ‘Fried(She a Vibe)’ is for sure a song for the people who have been fans of Future since he first came up. Everything about this track is Trippy and Atmospheric. From the cloudy synths that vary in saturation to the sludgy beat to Future’s muddied vocals, ‘Fried(She a Vibe)’ has such a classic Melodic Trap song. Although this one may not be a fan favorite, it is one that I appreciate. ‘Ain’t No Love’ may be the most mundane song of the album so far for me. This one just does not have the same appeal as pretty much anything that precedes it. Everything about ‘Ain’t No Love’ is almost good enough. Although the melody is extremely intricate, it is not special enough for me to want to come back to it; the beat is not energetic enough to make this song feel like enough of a banger for me to want to come back to it as well. The thing that drives this track down the most is Future’s vocals. He just does not do anything on ‘Ain’t No Love’ that is super engaging. ‘Everyday Hustle,’ which features Rick Ross, is another track that is emerging as a fan favorite. It is simple to realize why this is the case, as it is a major highlight for me as well. ‘Everyday Hustle’ has a sound that is completely different from anything before it. This song has a Chipmunk Soul sound that is very reminiscent of Kanye’s iconic early sound. Although the melody stays pretty much the same throughout the track, the beat changes about two-thirds through the song. This beat switch floods the song with energy, making an already extremely fun song even better. The vocal performances on ‘Everyday Hustle’ are just as good as the instrumental. Future raps with a variety of flows and styles throughout the track that show off his versatility, and Rick Ross’ commanding verse proves that he still has as much prowess in Trap music as anyone in the game. Rick Ross has been known for elevating tracks with his awesome features in the past, and ‘Everyday Hustle’ is another great example of this.
‘GTA’ is a song that I have seen a lot of people online gravitating towards, and I am not going to lie, I do not see it with this one. ‘GTA’ is not bad by any means. It is easily a better-than-average track. I just do not see it as one of the best songs on the album, as some people have been saying. Everything about this song to me is good, but nothing about it is great. The dark and heavy melody and beat from this track are decent, but nothing special. Future also does not do anything on ‘GTA’ that improves the song in any way. Maybe I will see the love that others have been showing for ‘GTA’ with more listens, but right now this one is not doing it for me like it is for so many others. ‘Seen It All’ may be the first truly skippable song of the record for me. I know I have said there are a few others that are somewhat forgettable, but those tracks still do have some appeal and fit in the flow/context of the album well. ‘Seen It All’ doesn’t even have those qualities for me. I will be completely honest, when I was listening to this one and trying to analyze it, my mind just wandered. There is nothing about ‘Seen It All’ that makes me want to come back to it. I have not thought this album had any true duds up until this point, but ‘Seen It All’ is a complete dud for me. Maybe it is partly because the song before it is just so boring, but ‘WTFYM’ is a major highlight for me. This is one that I enjoy so much. There is nothing about ‘WTFYM’ that tips the scale or pushes boundaries. It is a pretty typical and safe Melodic Trap track. That said, everything about this one is done so well. The melody and beat for this track are so complex and full. I love how the melody switches back and forth from being bright and soft to heavy and dark, as it makes the track feel so all-encompassing. Future raps his ass off on ‘WTFYM.’ His multitude of flows on this song are awesome, and the range he sings with on it makes the song super zestful. Future and Metro Boomin close WE DON’T TRUST YOU out with ‘Where My Twin @ – Bonus.’ This brief track is definitely the lightest and most positive-sounding song on the record. It has the energy of the Tropical Trap music that was big in the mid-2010s. Particularly, it makes me think of songs like ‘pick up the phone’ or ‘I’m The One.’ Even though this one does almost feel outdated, it provides a sense of nostalgia that everyone who is into Pop-Trap can appreciate. The worst thing about ‘Where My Twin @ – Bonus,’ to be honest, is that it is not longer. I wish this song were not only 2 minutes long, as it has such an anthemic feeling that makes me want to party; I just want more from it. It is clear that Future and Metro Boomin wanted to send this record off on an optimistic note, and they achieved that with ‘Where My Twin @ – Bonus.’
As with most of Future’s releases, the opinions online about WE DON’T TRUST YOU have been pretty polarizing. Some people just do not seem to get it, and others utterly love it. I would say I am somewhere in the middle, but heavily leaning toward the crowd that loves it. I will readily admit that this is not the most enthralling album from either of these artists. One of the major complaints about WE DON’T TRUST YOU is that it feels like both Future and Metro Boomin are playing it a bit safe on this record, and I unfortunately can see where people are coming from. The passion for changing the game and being innovative is not as prevalent on WE DON’T TRUST YOU as on some of their other projects. It is as if both artists know they are the best at what they do, and they have no reason to go outside of the box at this point. With that being said, I would say there is so much to love on this record. Although there is nothing on here pushing the envelope, it does still prove how great both Metro Boomin and Future are at what they do. WE DON’T TRUST YOU is not the kind of album that is going to change the game in any way, but it is a high-quality Trap album with a ton of great tracks that proves Future and Metro Boomin are still titans in Trap music.
EAST SIDE VIBES 