The long awaited collaboration between one of the best producers in the rap game, Metro Boomin, and one of the renowned trap artists of our generation, Future, has finally been released after being initially rumored in 2022.
Most would quickly assume that this record would instantly become one of the best albums of the year with the names attached to it, so let’s see if it turned out that way.
Starting things off, we’ll cover Future’s performance across all of the tracks seen here. My main complaint when it comes to Future here is his lack of changeup throughout the album. With a tracklist of 17 songs, his flow, cadence and even voice can, and does, get tiring to listen to.
There’s certain songs like “Ain’t No Love” and “Seen It All” that are one of the most boring on the album because of the typical trap beat used on them and Future’s usual flow that he’s seen using.
While I do agree to an extent to keep on doing whatever works well, I still welcome change from artists who have been making music for over a decade. The lack of change seen all over the record leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
On a better note, my favorite songs are “We Don’t Trust You,” “Like That” and “Slimed In” all because of Future’s verses on them. With this being said, it’s true that not ALL of his verses are tiring.
However, when you have a great verse for three out of 17 songs, it’s not good whatsoever in comparison. With this being said, the large majority of the record is not very good.
Moving on to the features of the album. All of the features that can be found on this record are the usual stars you’d expect on a rap album. These being Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and finally, Rick Ross. While most of these features are relatively decent, some inclusions like The Weeknd and Rick Ross, are incredibly forgetful.
The only TRUE standout is Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That.” This comes from his disses made on both J. Cole and Drake, insulting the two for putting themselves and Kendrick all in the same tier of the rap hierarchy.
Per usual, he develops his intricate bars, all while sounding great while doing it.
Now for the “in between” features by Travis Scott and Playboi Carti. When looking at both songs they’re on, I would be completely okay with their verses being removed as they truly just are there to add to the runtime of the track and nothing more. Travis Scott on “Type Shit” introduces a beatswitch to the song that is honestly way worse than the primary instrumental being used.
I will admit that his verse on “Cinderella” is so much better than his verse from before. When all is said and done, the features aren’t really a welcomed addition to the album. Most seem to be there to pad out the runtime of the album.
Lastly, we have the production of the album, which of course should play a big part of the record since Metro Boomin has his name plastered all over the project. Sadly, I find myself disliking a lot more tracks than I like sonically.
A lot of the beats seem uninspiring and make it look like Metro barely tried when crafting these instrumentals.
Some of these tracks include the aforementioned “Ain’t No Love” and “Seen It All.” The beats heard on these tracks are just so boring and don’t stand out when being compared to the rest of the rap songs being released today. I for one expected quite a lot more from one of the best trap producers in the present day.
The only standout is “Like That” sampling “Eazy-Duz-It” by Eazy-E. The sample itself has been recreated a million times throughout the years by certain artists such as Logic on “Under Pressure” and The Game and Kanye West on “Eazy,” both of which being more unique than “Like That.” As you can tell from what was said, the production of this record is nothing special.
When it does try and stride for success, it still fails quite miserably.
I don’t see myself revisiting this album all that much, apart from the three to four songs that may peak my interest from time to time.
From Future, the features and Metro Boomin’s instrumentals, the whole record is lackluster. Sure, I may put a lot of the songs into a playlist just to fill it up, but as a “shoulda-been cohesive album,” nothing comes together at all. “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” gets a 3 on the 10-point scale.
As an endnote, Metro Boomin and Future announced on April 4, two weeks after the initial album dropped, that an instant sequel is releasing on April 12. This record will be titled “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU.”
My only hope is that it’s a little bit better than its predecessor.