Source: Official Artwork
Future is about the only rapper that can come near to Drake’s monumental 2015. Dropping three mixtapes, in 6 months, Future has gone from just another ‘that’s not hip hop!‘ auto-tuned rapper to a leading light of the subgenre, completely defining his own sound and whose presence on any given track guarantee’s a hit; similar too..well, Drake.
Drake has discussed collaborative albums with other artists before, such as Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and even Trey Songz. And while Drake has made great music with them all, stylistically they have little in common. Where last year Future was thoroughly loved up singing unabashed love songs like ‘I Won‘, since his break up with Ciara, Future has essentially become… Drake. Now he’s stepped up his moody post-trap production and he’s equal parts ‘gon’ f__k that n__ga get it over with.’, and equal parts: ‘Girl you know you like a pistol you a throw away‘. So Drake and Future are a match made in heaven; on paper at least.
Metro Boomin’ is the unsung hero of this project producing 7 of the 11 tracks. He creates a mood more reminiscent of DS2 while subtly catering to Drake’s style. The whole reason Drake was the sole feature on ‘DS2‘ was down to him being such a fan of the original Dirty Sprite that he asked to be involved in the project, ultimatley meaning Drake doesn’t rock the boat too much here. He flexes his lyrical muscles more and leaves the crooning to Future. ‘Big Rings‘ is the unofficial opener, loud and bassy with Drake in full 6 God mode, making demands for all they’ve accomplished. Future drops in and out but doesn’t miss a beat. He’s comfortable here but knows when to let Drake do the work. ‘Live From The Gutter‘ is more balanced. Future and Drake go back to back with extended verses. Drake delivers a more fun and poppy verse, following Future’s surprisingly downbeat start. From there the assimilation is complete. ‘Diamonds Dancing‘ is a huge record, and they drift in and out with verses that are sung, rapped and play to both of their strengths. Future’s high crooning balances perfectly against Drakes 2 minute outro; where he scolds a woman who wronged him. The track works so well because it’s more than the two performances, it sounds like they sat down and worked on it together. ‘Plastic Bag‘ is the other perfect blend of their two styles. An ode to strippers that so much of their music is concerned with. It works so well because of how natural a concept it feels for the two.
What A Time To Be Alive is two artists at the top of their game, who are clear fans of each other. Most importantly? The project is fun as hell. The fun they are both having is palatable and, instead of getting caught up in the art, the listener is always the primary concern. The project is off the cuff, whilst still managing to be throughly entertaining throughout; and serves as the perfect pre-game for whatever plans they have for the rest of the year.
