ARTIST: Future
ALBUM: EVOL
LABEL: A1, Freebandz and Epic
RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2016
Future’s Here!
Written by Silas Valentino
Future is for the birds. He’s either inviting them over for a drug-fueled lay (the “three exotic broads” mentioned during “Xanny Family”) or he’s flipping one to the world and to anyone who doesn’t agree that he – née Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn – is indeed as advanced as his stage name suggests.
One area in which Future exhibits his undeniable worthiness is in content creation. His latest album, Evol, is also his fourth in less than four years – those are Beatles numbers! And this isn’t even his only release of the year. Three months in and Future has provided fans with not only this fresh LP but his Prince-inspired mixtape Purple Reign saw its release in January. When you’re telling it like it is, Future doesn’t waste any time.
But what is Future trying to tell us through one unarticulated lyric at a time? That he’s “Laying low in a Maybach/Spraying at you like an Arab” (“Maybach”) or that he has some deeply embedded goals: “I just wanna be there for my nigga, woo/I just wanna go back to the Bentley store”? (“Lil Haiti Baby”)
The genius of Future lies in his bravado; as is with plenty of hip-hop personalities. Future embodies trap: the work ethic, the commitment to the 808-snare roll and the never-ending struggle between them and us. He also has a set of pipes that instantly characterizes his brand. Contemporary Young Thug included, the voice of Future is recognizable and works well for the way he controls it. Like a friend with a beat up truck that runs smoothly whenever they’re in command, Future’s vocal ability would seem out of whack, atrocious even, if anybody else was mumbling or huffing these lines.
Moreover, when he stretches and warps that aforementioned rhyme “I just wanna go back to the Bentley store,” the inflection he places on the phrase “Bentley store” briefly suggests he might have meant “business school” – which would have made for quite the reveal, right? Here lies Future Hendrix: banger of the game who’s sole wish was to earn his MBA; a complex character doused in codeine with diamond talent but whose heart was in the library, not the club.
Though that was just a misheard lyric. Future definitely went back to the Bentley store and probably left with two.
40 minutes and 11 tracks comprise Evol (notice the title’s double entendre between evil and love, Future would have wanted you to) and if you seek a playlist to help pop up your shoulders or accompany a few dabs then look no further; Evol delivers.
Notably during “Lie to Me” where Future teams up with producer DJ Spinz over a galactic beat decorated by star-beaming synths. Whereas other sections of Evolfeature Future flexing, “Lie to Me” has the man staring back into the mirror as he addresses fame (“Accepting the hate when it’s coming”), family (“I know Tiarra, and Britney, and Keisha/They gon’ lie for me”) and friendly disputing (“Tell that lil nigga to stay in his place before I expose you/You take one shot at me, you know that’ll cause an explosion/Never fight the hand that feeds you, nigga”).
By the time this review hits the digital newsstands chances are Future will have already released a new mixtape, collaboration or album. He’s that prolific. What this exhausting work ethic proves is that Future aims to be unwritten and under no thumb. Even though Evol fails to launch Future into unprecedented realms, the LP furthers his meddling into the midnight murmur he so gracefully resides in.