Photo Credit: EPIC Records
Future is what some might say a trap God – now he’s a trap WIZARD! In his latest album titled “Future Hndrxx Presents: The Wizrd,” Future presents us with a 20 track project that seems to be self named. Future Hndrxx is a self given nickname and ‘The Wizrd’ is a nickname given to him by his late uncle. The album consists of a multitude of styles and for those throwing a rager anytime soon, you could include many of “The Wizrd’s” songs on your playlist because it SLAPS. Listening to it before bed was not the best idea as it got me super hype and ready to party as I danced the night away. Future will probably go down in history as one of the best beat creators of this generation of rappers, and “The Wizrd” definitely adds to his genius with some of the best beats I’ve heard in awhile while incorporating new stylistic choices as well.
“The Wizrd” shows a different side of Future. This album brings out his hip hop side while still holding true to his ties with trap. Shifting away from the mumble rap flow in some songs, Future is now creating a name for himself in the hip-hop scene. Don’t get me wrong though, there’s still plenty of trap that keeps Future in his roots in most of the album. Thus, is Future the trap God and the hip-hop ‘Wizrd?’ I think so.
Moving more towards the hip-hop genre with this album, Future is opening up many more doors for himself as a creator and businessman. As the founder of the record label Freebandz, Future and his brother have created an entire brand, selling both music and merchandise. I am personally a big fan of Freebandz as a brand because it looks cool yet it is affordable unlike the clothing brands of other rappers such as Kanye West’s Fear of God line which has ripped shirts selling for hundreds of dollars. Future himself is quite an influencer in fashion as he is constantly pushing his limits and making the most odd looks very fashionable. Here are more of Future’s looks: https://www.looklive.com/people/future/
“The Wizrd” is a step in the right direction for Future and I think this album will be very successful. Here are some notes I jotted down during my first listen to the album.
1. Never Stop (4:51)
Future kicks off his album with a more personal, hip-hop song. The song starts off with a big statement by Future. “I make Yeezy boost moves in Reeboks and ain’t gonna never stop.” This goes back to what I was saying earlier too about Freebandz being a more affordable look. The song is very reflective and it introduces the new hip-hop Future. https://shop.freebandz.com/
2. Jumpin on a Jet (2:17)
This is a pure Atlanta trap piece as Future kicks off the song with “Yeah, hoe.” He is basically bragging about his material wealth and is bragging about going from rags to riches. This song has a great beat and is definitely a banger.
3. Rocket Ship (1:56)
Nice follow up to Jumpin on a Jet. It is a great beat but a bit slower and as Future continues his conversation about his climb to the top. This song also embodies drugs and the feeling of blasting off in a rocket ship after “cooking coco.”
4. Temptation (2:47)
This song is also more on the hip-hop side of Future’s sound and his personal reflection. He discusses his tough past and how most of his friends are in prison while he is out and rich.
5. Crushed Up (2:30)
This is one of the singles Future released about two weeks ago – great choice to release it as a single. This is the Future we are used to hearing and releasing it as a single got us excited for the release of the full album. The song is difficult to place in the album for me though as it sounds quite different from the rest of the songs – still love it though.
6. F&N (3:09)
One of my personal favorites of the album. This song is very catchy The song starts off pretty normal but it really picks up. The song has a shift (key change) at exactly 2:00 and this is possibly my favorite moment of the entire album. This song is the perfect introduction to the rest of the album and recaptured my undivided attention. “I took an AK to a dinner date” had me rotfl.
7. Call the Coroner (2:12)
The intro to this song has me shooketh. Future is really inspired by El Chapo himself! This is the perfect beat for Future and you can tell – he kills this song. “I wanna live like a drug lord, but I wanna be glorious // Sometimes I feel like a kingpin, I’m so victorious // I got a white and a black girl, they look like an Oreo // I come through poppin it off, call the coroner.” These lyrics are trap gold.
8. Talk Shit Like a Preacher (2:12)
Future continues the previous track with this flow. He is killing it at this point in the album and knows it too.
9. Promise U That (3:25)
This song really slows the beats back down. I wasn’t really a fan of that transition at that exact moment. This song is not bad at all but the previous songs were all very hype and had me jumping so this song felt like an interruption to the party.
10. Stick to the Models (3:16)
This song has Future going off. It’s also a lower beat but Future doesn’t really take a break in this song. He is rapping the whole time which is rare for any rap song.
11. Overdose (1:55)
The first line of this track, “Swag overdose,” really exemplifies Future’s interest in the fashion world and his confidence in his own style. The whole song is basically about how he is overdosing on life because he feels so good all the time due to his lavish lifestyle.
12. Krazy but True (3:05)
This is one of the more poetic tracks on the album. It has a slower beat as Future raps about the influence he has had on people. With the line “Damn, that’s crazy but it’s true” as the hook, we can see how humble Future feels about his successes in life – he literally can’t believe it!
13. Servin Kill Kam (3:07)
The beats on this track are insane. This song is about Future’s high class status but how he is still “street” at heart. He talks about how he has all of these expensive things but how he is still using them to do the same things as he did in his past. Great concept.
14. Baptize (3:38)
Future samples HIS OWN BEAT in this track! Now that’s what I like to call confident. And he does it amazingly. He samples the beat from the song “Slave Master” from his album “DS2” from 2015. This second half of this song is what really slaps – amazing!
15. Unicorn Purp (Feat. Young Thug & Gunna) (4:07):
Purp is a well known strain of weed that has little purple hairs on it. Unicorn purp thus wins best song title on this album. This track also has the first features of Young Thug and Gunna on the album. For Future not to bring in features until the fifteenth song on the album goes to show how personal Future wanted this album to be.
16. Goin Dummi (2:42)
This song is alright. We’re getting closer to the end of a really long album here. This song seemed more in the album for Future than for us – he is rapping about staying super focused in the very distracting world that comes with being in the music industry.
17. First Off (Feat. Travis Scott) (3:48)
Travis Scott has to be the most popular rapper right now so it’s no surprise Future has featured him. I am personally a huge fan of Travis Scott so I was very happy to see a feature from him in this album. This song is really good too.
18. Faceshot (2:56)
This song is about Future messing around with a bunch of girls, but still being humble when he needs to be. Basically, if he does find the right girl, he’ll settle.
19. Ain’t Coming Back (3:40)
This is another song about Future’s past of being in the streets. The point of this song though is that he is not sad about making it big and having the chance to leave those dark times. Future has rapped about loyalty a lot in the past and with the line “Couple real friends turn enemies,” speaks volumes to Future. He really values true friends and this song is about how when he came up, a lot of his “friends” became really jealous and hateful – as he says “I ain’t goin back.”
20. Tricks on Me (4:22)
The closer. Very melodic. Really wraps up the album well as Future takes the bpm down. He discusses some insecurities in this song and I really appreciate this track.
Overall, this album SLAPS HARD and I recommend giving it a listen.
Kaykay’s Playlist of the Week:
kaykay's forté 