Future – MIXTAPE PLUTO (Album Review)

2024 has been an exceptional year for Future. Coming from 2 different studio albums with Metro Boomin, releasing a song that has started a new civil rap war, and touring across North America, Future officially has entered the peak of his career. However, if you assumed that this was enough for the 40-year-old rapper, you would be wrong. Future has surprised us once again with a new mixtape called MIXTAPE PLUTO. If you are a dedicated follower of Future’s work, then you would probably know that the release of the mixtapes for the artist is always a big event.

Future has repeatedly delivered the need for extra quality on his mixtapes, delivering an exceptional level of artistry and intensity that sometimes surpasses his studio record. Such instances could be the well-known mixtapes Monster, 56 Nights, Purple Reign, and Beast Mode, all released during 2014–2016 what is called to be Future’s 1st prime.

However, right now, Future is at the 2nd peak of his career, surpassing 60 million Spotify monthly listeners, achieving new unexplored heights. So my expectations for this record have been naturally pretty high as I have enjoyed both of the recent Future records.

However, I think I might have expected too much. In MIXTAPE PLUTO, Future once again embraces his alter ego, Pluto, which he hadn’t truly acknowledged since his collab tape with Lil Uzi Vert. So, the build-up to this record was more grandiose, as this is the first Future solo work from 2022. So without further ado, let’s see what MIXTAPE PLUTO got.

From the beginning of the record with “TEFLON DON,” Future already demonstrates to us the soundscape that is going to be dominant on the album. More or less regular trap production accompanied by famous trap producers like Southside, Wheezy, ATL Jacob, London on da Track, and others.

If at first hearing the Future on more aggressive and straightforward beats was slightly refreshing, after a while it becomes simply stale.
With Future’s work with Metro, they created a powerful artistic work around the record, but here Future himself acts like he does not want to be on this album.

I certainly feel that here as he just continuously hits us with repetitive production and a monotonous delivery that gets boring
pretty fast. There are several cases where Future changes things up, alongside his delivery on the more melodic parts of the album like
“OCEAN,” “SURFING A TSUNAMI,” and “LOST MY DOG.” I would probably say that “SURFING A TSUNAMI” is the best song on here, as you get the most interesting and captivating chorus that brings the ideal mix of the Future’s rapping and melodic production.

It is also worth mentioning that it feels like the entire album was done in one take, with several breaks between the freestyle sessions. On some tracks, Future runs out of things to say pretty fast, which leads to the track being shorter or having prolonged breaks in between the verses.

Here is the thing. I would say that there is no comparison here to something we heard on We Don’t Trust You or We Still Don’t Trust You. For example, We Don’t Trust You has given an incredible mix of bangers and cinematic performances, while We Still Don’t Trust You did a good job of showing us more of the melodic side of the Future. However, this one feels like it doesn’t have anything to offer at all.

The production incorporates usual synth melodies with plain 808 bass and soulless drums. Here, Future’s performances do not compensate lyrically or in their delivery for already weak production. Sometimes, he stirs his quite tedious flow up with something different, like on “PLUTOSKI” or “MJ”. On these tracks, Future explores a slower rhythm of his songs, making it seem as if he’s menacingly whispering to you. 

With “PLUTOSKI,” which had the potential to be one of the better cuts from the record, Future ruins the track with his sleepy moaning that serves as a chorus to the song. I must say that some ad-libs, or performances, might have been more explosive and interesting if not for the subpar mixing. Source: Future | Youtube

As an example, in the song “MADE MY HOE FAINT,” Future incorporates “The Hills” by The Weeknd as both the starting and ending melody. The drums, snares, and bass in the track are so chaotic and booming, which causes Future’s vocals to sound heavily distorted, resulting in a one-dimensional sound.

After the first listen, I did not even favor any of the songs, as they sounded more or less similar to me. This album does not have
particular standout elements for me. Yes, there is a “PLUTOSKI” that got into my head, and it just felt extremely memorable because of the unusual and repulsive chorus of this song.

Score/Poor: Overall, I feel like It might work better for a particular audience. However, I am not really enthusiastic about any of the cuts on the album, and rather, I experience severe disappointment.

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