Lil B - Ho Suck My Dick (Tony Montana Based Freestyle) (Youtube, 2012)
Lil B rapping like Future rapping like Al Pacino talking like a Cuban.
Incredibly important.
Future (feat. T.I.) - Magic (Freebandz/Epic, 2012)
Future and Tip chill out on the top of Magic City for the latest single from Future’s Pluto. Even though I don’t like this version as much as the original T.I.-less version found on True Story, it’s always to great to get new visuals from the Askranawt Kid.
Gucci Mane (feat. Future) - Sometimes (Brick Squad, 2012)
It appears that Gucci is spending more time writing these days, and less time shaving (what’s with the crustache, man?). I’ve actually avoided this track for a couple days, and I’m regretting that now. Since Freebrickz dropped last year, I’ve been well under the assumption that Gucci and Future have absolutely no chemistry. Despite the cues that Future takes from Gucci’s playbook, both are two distinctly different rappers that compliment eachother in no way. Unfortunately, they have the same fanbase, and that means they’re gonna be collaborating until the day one of them does one too many lines.
It’s been frustrating following Gucci, and though some may argue that Gucci has been showing flashes of brilliance once again, this isn’t the first time that Gucci has really been spitting well again. Both “North Pole” and the Yo Gotti-assisted ”Animosity“ from Mike Will’s mixtape were strong reasons for me to believe Gucci maybe back to form. Truthfully, he’s been rapping well on and off since last year’s Writing On The Wall II/Freebrickz (which didn’t work as a collaboration, but did allow Gucci to flex his pen for a minute before being hauled back to jail). While the leaks for Trap Back are good (I don’t think any of them really constitute as the best thing Gucci’s done in the past 12 months), I’m still not convinced if this is the return of the Gucci of yore.
“Sometimes” is great though. Gucci’s rapping pretty openly about his life for a change, his top down so he can “look up at the galaxy” to clear his mind. His verse is so good that it’s almost a shame when Future comes on. Though Future is moderately self-aware here, he still misses the opportunity to silence critics by focusing on the skulls and spikes that he really spent too much time rapping about on Astronaut Status. It’s not that what Future is doing is bad, by any means, but when stacked up against a driven Gucci, he does fall flat (it doesn’t help that Drumma’s production brings Future’s normal energy down to a stuttering halt). This is exactly why Freebrickz failed as a whole.
Trap Back will come out on February 5th. It will probably be simultaneously great and uneven. Which means I’ll listen to it more than anything else this year.
L.W.H.’s No Jumper Compilation/No Jumper Catch Up
.L.W.H. just put together a compilation of some dope ass tracks to accompany your weekend over at No Jumper. Make sure to check that out! Also, the team at No Jumper has been staying busy this week, with plenty of new entries to check out.
A Million Rhymes A Million Crimes (Frank Rodriguez)
Carnal Knowledge: Examining Abel Tesfaye’s “The Weeknd” Trilogy (Maxwell Cavaseno)
Keyboard Kid [Interview] (Humble Gold)
Future - Astronaut Status (Freebandz, 2011)
FREEBANDZ IN DIS BITCH! WE GON TAKE A RIDE TO PLUTA BUMPIN’ DIS ALL LOUD JUZ TO MAKE SURE OUR AHSE AWL REEEEEEL! ASKRANAWT!
Future - Deeper Than The Ocean (Preview) (Freebandz/Epic, 2012)
SPANISH GUITARS! This may very well be Future’s best cut yet, from the video alone. Astronaut Status drops on Thursday! SKRRRRRRRRRRT
Future - True Story (Review)
(Freebandz, 2011)
- by Yayo
Future is almost solely the reason I came back to blogging. During my hiatus, I stumbled across Dirty Sprite, after noticing a few friends highlighting the Atlanta rapper’s ode to codeine and pop beverages. Future, whose real name Nayvadius Cash is envious in its strength, was exactly what I’d been looking for in a world crowded by lo-fi bedroom rap and post-Waka trap music. He was just street enough to appeal to the dopeboys and critics infatuated with the lifestyle, while possessing pop sensibilities that allowed him to a crossover success with Racks and Tony Montana.
There’s no denying the fact that Future can make hits. His signature croak, a deep-bellow that is far more sinister than Wayne’s, but not quite as bombastic as his bigger figured peers, give his raps a distinct sound. His sometimes autotuned-assisted hooks work because Future’s God-given voice doesn’t derive too far from the pitch corrector’s often maligned sound. It’s often hard to tell where the autotune starts and ends for Future; sometimes it’s questionable if it’s used at all, or if Future is taking vocal cues from Kermit the Frog.
Gucci Mane - North Pole (Mixtape, 2011)
The unofficial sequel to Weird, Gucci focuses this whole song around the concept of being Santa Claus. It’s always refreshing to hear the playful Gucci of yore, but he’s seriously rapping about throwing pipe bombs down chimneys on this song. Maybe a late contender for rap song of the year? It definitely helps that Mike Will Made It.
Mike Will’s Established in 1989 dropped yesterday. Featuring amazing songs from Future, Gucci, Schoolboy Q, Travis Porter Lil Boosie, Waka, Slim Dunkin and others. Mike Will is seriously producer of the year.
Yayo’s Top 30 Future Tracks/Top 50 Single Tracks
- Yayo
2011 was a strange year in rap, but also a great one, as far as I’m concerned. Both Lil B and Odd Future, 2010′s star pupils, mostly fell to the wayside due to a struggle to be taken serious (B), and what feels like an overall laziness (Odd Future). In their wake, many different acts emerged, the most prominent of which were internet darlings like Spaceghostpurrp and the ASAP Mob, whom combined to make one supergroup by the year’s end. Although Purrp has yet to sign the ink on a major label contract, the ASAP Mob, and specifically their star Rocky, signed an extremely lucrative contract that has been disputed to this day.
While Odd Future’s once heavy output dwindled to an album, a re-release, an EP, and a mixtape no one even remembers, the future stayed odd; and by that, I’m talking about Nayvadius Cash, also known as Future. Future is Atlanta’s latest prodigal son, an autotuned mess of a rapper whose music should be far more disasterous than it is infectious. Due to an underlying talent that hasn’t yet been fully harnessed and a knack for crafting larger than life hooks, Future has managed to come out of the year with three incredible mixtapes, as well as one decent collaboration with Atlanta’s old-guard and a string of loosies found on various mixtapes throughout the year.
Due to the fact that Future’s had better moments this year than Tony Montana (in my opinion), I decided to compile my top 30 Future tracks for the sake of prosperity, as well as include the mixtapes they can be found on. This really was Future’s year as far as I’m concerned, but that doesn’t take away anything from the other 49 songs I’ve chosen in the accompanying list.
