About “We Don’t Trust You,” Future, and Metro Boomin

If you asked me which album should be your introduction to late 2010s to current 2020s rap, I would recommend “We Don’t Trust You.” This is the latest cooperative from singer, rapper and culture influencer Future and producer extraordinaire Metro Boomin. It has the undeniable swagger of the modern hip-hop, trap scene, while still retaining a crisp cinematic element that places it on a higher shelf of musicality.

We last saw Future and Metro together on the 2017 song “Mask Off,” which quickly became Future’s biggest song to date. Since then, Metro has become the biggest rap producer of the last couple years, collaborating with almost anyone and constantly producing not only hits, but well made albums as well. Future, who had already made a large mark on the industry, got to watch his influence on the next generation grow while still remaining at the top of his game.

 

Future’s signature style of performing an entrancing flow and emotional delivery over lyrical meaning or mastery mixed with Metro’s undeniable talent for making hits are a match made in heaven for a hit single. But a full album? Does boring repetition get in the way of a great project? I would say NO.

The Music

While Future does have repetitive lyrics, usually unable to escape from the common tropes of money, women, drugs, gang life, and working out of poverty, he does seem to perfectly meld his flow with the complex beats that Metro gives him. Future’s past use of psychedelic instrumentals are also apparent within the production as we see Metro twist his style to give Future a more comfortable stage. Overall, these two meld just as well on a 16 track LP than a single.

My main problem with this project is how relaxed and calm it is. Outside of the occasional excited feature or a few hype Future verses, the drawn out flows on top of some over-repetitive deep base beats make the one hour long track feel much longer. This can be ignored on tracks like “Like That” and “Everyday Hustle,” where feature artists bring different energy, but the lull returns on the next song. It doesn’t make these songs bad, rather part of the project can feel like a bore.

Highlights

• We Don’t Trust You: A perfect introduction to not only the album, but the artists as a whole for anyone new to Future and Metro. Built mainly of Metro’s now classic cinematic trap boom-bap bass and supported by the calm flow that Future performs. My favorite part of the track is the crescendo of marching band horns backing up Future as he gets louder.
• Young Metro: Smoothly coming off the first track, we are immediately hit with a longer, deeper bass that lays a foundation for Future to infuse yet another infectious flow. While the lyrics may not have any real meaning or addition to the song, they mesh well with the rainbow of synths in the background. The best part of the track has to be the undulating background vocals that surprisingly come from The Weekend, creating an eerie atmosphere around the main attraction that is Future.
• Like That: You get immediately punched in the face with these quick laser beam-like synths over a beat so deep you can hear effects of distortion in Futures voice. We get possibly the most energetic Future of the album, which is just great to hear in an album that is mostly so full of calm flows. Then, Kendrick Lamar enters on the best feature I’ve heard all year. This is a Kendrick on a mission, aggressively jabbing double and triple entendres at Drake and J-Cole about their #1 song earlier this year. With this feature, his claim to be the only one at the top of rap might be valid. Metro saved the best beat on the album just for him and it certainly paid off. Easily the best song on the album.
• Everyday Hustle: I may just be a sucker for a good sample, but the soft trap high high hats over the cut up sample make this beat just sound heavenly. Maybe it’s the fear of being outdone by the Rick Ross feature, but future once again puts together a much more energetic performance and actually closes out the track with one of the most hypnotic flows of the whole project after a beat change. Sandwiched in between these two verses is an arrogant Rick Ross feature that just belongs with the beat. Just a good vibe all around.

Lowlights

• Ice Attack: It’s just a boring song. Future’s bars become repetitive even within one song. The beat change after the first minute does nothing to change this, with the beat seeming similarly repetitive and basic. It’s just not a memorable song.
• Slimed In: A snoozer beat under Future trying to bring in some singing into his rapping lyrics, but it just doesn’t work over the awkwardly deep bass and weird psychedelic instrumentals.
• Where My Twin @ (Bonus): While it may just be a poppy bonus track, I don’t understand why it was put in the album. It really does not fit within any of the trap beat style or the gang fuel lyrics and seems to me like a money grab at a trendy phrase. Not a bad song, just an unnecessary add to the album.

Overall Score: 6.7 /10

Final Thoughts

This is undeniably a modern rap, hip-hop, trap album. The best songs are poised to become some of the biggest hits of the year and the worst songs feel boring and will fade into obscurity. Even in an album where Metro looks like he is trying to create some transition in between songs and trying to introduce some greater narrative with the constant narration about the industry, it just feels like another good album. It isn’t unique.

Yes, I understand the message of how trust is a dangerous thing and the dangers of trust in their industry and the gangster life of selling drugs, etcetera. Truly, is that a new concept? No. Does this album provide good hits and good vibes? Absolutely. Let’s look at the project for what it is, an enjoyable trap banger.

We can get excited for a sequel to this project that is currently being call “We Don’t Trust You 2.” Hopefully, there is more life and experimental music from these two creative minds.