Send "Future " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 As the epicenter of popular rap music, Atlanta is known as the birthplace and the machine for most of this generation's major gangster stars. But in its own way, Atlanta is also something like the L.A. of the black music industry, a place where pure, unadulterated pop and club music grows and mutates, and sometimes interacts with the mainstream, like when T.I.'s derided "Whatever You Like" became his biggest hit ever. For the most part, though, the purest of Atlanta pop-rap is an underground phenomenon followed feverishly by teens, young adults, and adults who wish they were still young adults (as engrossingly chronicled by Michael Schmelling, Kelefa Sanneh, and Will Welch in their book Atlanta) and whose stars burn quick and fast. D4L and Soulja Boy and Shawty Lo and Yung L.A. have all more or less come and gone, but there are always guys ready to fill the space, if only for six or 12 months. Every high school class has its own heroes.Future, an Atlanta born and bred singer/rapper, is currently wearing the crown, and if he doesn't prove to have a longer shelf life than most, his star will have maybe burned the brightest. You may know his voice from the hook and second verse of "Racks" (on racks on racks), one of the biggest club hits of the early year, or from "Tony Montana", his current underground smash that features him rapping in a ridiculous voice that's a very rough approximation of that of the movie character. But this is often ridiculous and very rough music, and Future pulls it off well; the song is one of the most fun tracks of the year. Peers are now starting to attach themselves to the guy with the hot hand, too: Drake blessed Future with a verse for the "Tony Montana" remix, and with the remix to "Magic" (his other underground smash), Future somehow secured T.I.'s most recent "first verse since being released from jail." Streetz Calling is his most recent mixtape, and to give you an idea of how quickly these things move, none of the aforementioned songs appears. Instead of milking his hits dry, Future is presumably providing a breeding ground for new ones. He's so far basically come as close as anyone to perfecting this thread of ringtone pop, where singing and rapping are practically the same thing, and conversing 100% through Auto-Tune doesn't mean you still can't talk about how you used to sell drugs. It would almost feel antiquated if Future weren't amassing hits, or if he weren't bringing some subtle new dimensions to the micro-genre. His near-complete integration of singing and rapping comes off as something born out of genuine inspiration, and less like a decision made because he's just not very good at rapping (like Yung L.A.) or seemingly bored by the entire idea of it (paging Soulja Boy). He's smooth enough on "Unconditional Love" to recall the time when Lil Wayne's Auto-Tune experiments were kind of romantic, and gritty enough on "Never Be the Same" to evoke dancehall singers who have used Auto-Tune to accentuate their pain....full text |
| Xxlmag |
| When “Racks” became one of the summer’s most unavoidable anthems, it’s likely few guessed that of the two artists on the song, it would be the featured guest, Future, not YC, to flash staying power beyond one hit. But thanks to a consistent and well-received recent output—late July’s collaborative mixtape with Gucci Mane, Free Bricks, regional hit “Watch This,” and the Billboard charting “Magic” and “Tony Montana,” the latter of which Drake remixed—Future has inserted himself into all conversations of who’s next. Riding that wave, he drops off his latest mixtape Streetz Calling. At its core, Future’s music is lyrically unsophisticated and melodically catchy—and the recent Sony signee knows as much and uses it to his advantage. Working hand-in-hand, and bolstered by his shockingly inoffensive (and actually rather masterful) use of auto-tune, he employs these possible detriments positively. The results range from simple and soundly executed boasts (“Made Myself A Boss”) to futuristic drinking and drugging jams (“Gone To The Moon,” “E” featuring fellow ATLien Trouble), to tales of the grind (“Never Be The Same”). The A1/Freebandz representer has already proven, with records like “Racks,” “Tony Montana” and “Magic,” that crafting club-centric chants is mere child’s play; and he cements that rep on this project. But it’s when he reveals glimpses of uncertainty and sensitivity that Future becomes more than your ordinary Atlanta bred strip club hit-maker. On “Never Be The Same” he raps, “If you listen closely to me, hear the pain in my delivery/Through the struggle and the pain, I still remain the same.”...full text |
| Audiocred |
| If your reaction to the title of this review was “who the hell is Future?” stop reading right now. Scroll to the bottom of the article, click on “Racks,” and listen to the entire song. If it strikes you as anything better than absolute garbage, feel free to come back and continue reading. If not, save your time and move on. Thank me later. Future is the latest Atlanta rapper to gain nationwide recognition on the strength of an energetic yet lyrically shallow club banger. His mixtape, Streetz Calling, sounds about exactly how you’d expect it. Much like Young Jeezy’s recent The Real Is Back 2, Streetz’s title leaves no doubt as to whom the collection of songs is aimed at. Anyone who fails to recognize Jeezy’s worth as a rapper will find nothing worthwhile in Future’s work, but if the phrase “a younger Jeezy with serious potential” holds promise to you, Streetz will definitely provide something worth hearing. While Future lacks the power or ferocity of Waka Flocka Flame, he has enough charisma to shout something inane like “I wear Gucci, I wear Bally at the same damn time” and make it sound important. The days of ATL-area lyrical tyrants have given way to the era of rappers who spit like a Mack truck, and it’s simultaneously nauseating and impressive that Future can sound so intimidating with all that Auto-Tune. Even though he’s a relative newcomer, Future makes it clear that he’s not in the rap game to mess around. On “The Way It Go,” he scores a co-sign from no one less than the (second-) biggest ATL rapper of the era, Mr. BRR! himself, Gucci Mane....full text |
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