Catching Up With 2022 - Future's "I NEVER LIKED YOU"

 When it comes to trap music Future does it best. He brings the mumble from the jungle. There is something dark and honest about his lyrics that under all the ego bolstering portray a very flawed human who knows he uses purple drink to hide from himself. He comes out swinging when the album opens and gets into some of his more ridiculous posturing which comes across like a clown act over a pretty decent beat, but you cannot say he went to the same well twice and switches his sound up while being the same. If it is not clear that I like Future, he is my favorite rapper of this kind. The first mistake he makes is doing a song with Kayne West who is trying way too hard. He already has 25 other producers and songwriters working on this album, so he does not need Kayne in the mix. It does not hold up against the first two songs.

"For a Nut " finds him bringing Young Thug and Gunna onboard. Young Thug obviously having more personality than Gunna. The track they are rapping over is more interesting than your average trap beats. The song after this one "Puffin on Zootiez" is less interesting. The atmosphere to "Gold Stacks" is marginally darker and flows more effectively, despite lyrically things being a mess and feeling like he is just recycling things we have heard from other albums. though the line "I'm a rich junkie yeah, all these drugs I buy" might be the most telling and we could be hearing the impending downward spiral of Future as a person. Drake's appearance on "Wait for You" automatically add a more pop slant to the sappy song. "Love You Better" feels like it is highly influenced by the Weeknd's style of production. It's more of a ballad than what you expect from Future.  The beat picks up the pace along with his lyrical flow on "Massaging Me". Lyrically it is not that interesting, but the song itself works for what it is. "Chickens" is ridiculous, but it works.   

"We Just Wanna Get High" seems to be more preoccupied with switching bitches than getting high. Though it generally a fun song. Kodak Black continues to prove himself pretty useless, his voice annoys me, and his lyrics are not that interesting. Future's verses pretty much are the only thing that salvages the song. There is more urgency to "Holy Ghost". The surreal backing track works well. There is a more organic feel to the instrumentation of "the Way Things Going". The bar is already pretty low for hip hop so it does not take much for him to impress. "I'm On One" finds Drake once again dragging Future down though it is not as pronounced as the first son he appeared on.  The album closes with a pretty strong song. I will give this album an 8,5, one of the better hip hop albums released this year, though it would be hard for me to name ten that are worth a damn this would be counted among those I could name.