Future released his highly-anticipated album I NEVER LIKED YOU on April 29, and fans are still listening to it like it just came out last week.
The excitement came before any song was released, as the cover art gave people an impression of what kind of album this would be. Future has been the poster child for being “toxic” and him sitting in the car with a sleep mask on shows that he doesn’t care about anything that’s going on in the moment.
To open up the album, Future gives fans a banger with the song “712PM.” The beat starts slow, but once Future gets into his rhymes, the beat takes off. This is a regular feature from Future when he opens up his albums, so that came as no surprise.
And that may have been the problem.
Future is known for giving us toxic lyrics and hard beats, with not much substance. His albums Beast Mode, 56 Nights, and Dirty Sprite 2, all sound the same. This time around he does have top-tier features such as Drake, Ye West, Young Thug, and Gunna, but the vibe feels like those artists were just there to give the album good look.
The best feature may have been EST Gee on “CHICKENS,” which has a catchy beat and insane flow, and is the type of song that you could play anywhere.
Future does include a song about his feelings in “LOVE YOU BETTER,” but not once does he fall out of line with his persona. The chorus says: “You telling me you falling out of love with me. Hope you can find someone to love you better than I did.” It’s clear he knows that his relationship is doomed, but doesn’t mind moving on.
The best song on the album has to be “WAIT FOR U,” and that could be for many different reasons. First off, the sample from Tems’ song “Higher” is beautiful. Also, when Drake and Future get together on any song, it has the potential to become an automatic hit. Throngs of listeners have heard this song because it’s constantly used in TikTok videos, Instagram reels, and Twitter highlight videos. You’ve probably sung it a few times, and you didn’t even notice.
Most of this album is produced by ATL Jacob, which was a big difference from what we’re used to hearing on Future’s projects. Throughout the album, the beats are battling with the lyrics when they really should go hand in hand with each other. The more Future and ATL Jacob work together, the chemistry will improve.
Overall, if you were expecting something hard-hitting from this project, or expecting it to be like Future’s previous albums, you probably were let down. The thing is, people aren’t listening to Future for anything insightful or life-changing, they listen for toxicity and excitement. If that’s what you came for, you’re probably a happy camper.
