For Atlanta trap pioneer
Future
, consistency -- in everything from brand to output -- has proved key. Since rising to rap's forefront with his signature blend of lean-soaked hedonism and slurry-voiced menace, the MC has done his best not to rock the boat, issuing yearly projects in strict adherence to his chart-topping recipe. And though a longer delay between albums may have invited hope of reinvention, his ninth studio album,
I Never Liked You
, only furthers this approach. This is
by-the-numbers.
INLY
is
doing what
does best: ghosting his entourage of sexual conquests, orchestrating ride-outs in slick convertibles, and relishing the perpetual brrrr of the money machine.
ATL Jacob
's looping trap rhythms make a familiar battleground for headstrong anthems, while lighter touches on "Back to the Basics" and "Love You Better" service the more introspective side of his catalog. Most of these songs, by virtue of this simplistic approach, will go straight on to the playlists of the rapper's fan base: "Puffin on Zootiez" sets itself immediately ahead of the pack with a drifting, blue-skied instrumental, while "Gold Stacks" and "I'm Dat N****" land that classic
sound with ease.
The project's collaborations play with bigger ideas.
Drake
's candid quotables add to the softer "Wait for U" while reigniting the
What a Time to Be Alive
flame as he skates over "I'm on One";
EST Gee
packs equal artillery on the single-world stomp of "Chickens." "Keep It Burning" is the project's sole masterstroke, an unyielding cut from the
Donda 2
sessions that fuses the monochrome "Fallen Angel" style of
Donda
-era
Ye
with the ravenous sounds of
's
Monster
days. The track feels utterly vital: its basslines bark from the ends of rigid chains as
West
waxes vengeance with a "Cross me so much I got nails in my hands."
The playlist-packing
joins 2020's
High Off Life
as a set of anthems for the Atlanta MC, doling up renditions of every style in the rapper's arsenal. ~ David Crone