Preface: Personally, I don't think Future shows any more toxic characteristics than any other rapper, but the term "toxic male" has become directly related to Future. I just think Future is the artist that makes it the easiest to spot it in his music and he follows through on it in interviews. Nevertheless:
Over the last week and a half, I have fully immersed myself in the latest presentation from Future Hendrix. I woke up to cockiness. I spent my days listening to flex after flex. I fell asleep to the degradation of women.
Approximately 30 listens start to finish later, I felt the change within me -- I became the toxic man Future wants me to be.
I defended R.Kelly to my peers. I commented "kitchen" under a WNBA player's Instagram. Chris Brown was accused of sexual assault, and I said it was fake--"it" being sexual assault. I poked holes in my own condoms just so I can tell a woman "it's just as much my choice as it is yours." My sister texted me telling me she missed my call because she was showering, and out of pure habit I replied: "without me :(".
I was officially toxic.
Safe to say a lot of relationships have been strained over the past week; but if there's one positive from the mental devolution that Future put me through, it's that I gave each of the 20 songs on The WIZRD the listen it deserved, allowing for the most credible review of Future possible.
The Good
You know what you're going to get from a Future project--drug reference after drug reference, endless flexes, and how he can have any woman he wants. No exaggeration, one of those three expected subjects is what 19 of the 20 songs on The WIZRD is about. If you don't believe me, start from the beginning of the album and skip to the next song once you hear a designer's name, some reference of jewelry/money/how rich he is, sex, or drugs. You'll finish the album in four minutes and 35 seconds.
Don't believe me? Test it out for yourself. Here's my work:
That may seem like a negative, but if you know and understand what you're getting from Future coming into one of his projects there are no complaints; and, the fact that The WIZRD finds a way to keep the listener engaged, despite the very limited subject matter, speaks volumes to Future's song-making ability.
The varying production from ATL Jacob, Detail, Dre Moon, Jambo Beats, Matt Cap, Richie Souf, Ricky Racks, SinGrinch, Southside, Tay Keith, and Wheezy paired with Future's ability to create almost annoyingly catchy hooks makes the entire project acceptable aux, workout, speaker, etc. material, but a few songs stick more than others.
"Krazy but True" has Pusha T "If You Know You Know" potential to become a standout song that turns into an everyday phrase. "Goin Dummi", "Call the Coroner "and "Stick to the Models" have the memorability and tempo to become staples of any Future playlist. Although it's one of the more subtle brags on the project, the "I been popping since my demo bitch," hook on "Rocket Ship" is one of Future's hardest flex/hook combos of his career("I just took a piss and I seen codeine coming out" is the undisputed champ). "On Unicorn Purp", Young Thug and Gunna execute a Miami Heat LeBron James/Dwyane Wade-level give-and-go verse. Travis Scott's fitting feature on "First Off" leaves THE WIZRD perfect in regards to guest artist appearances.
The brightest spot on the album was Tricks on Me, as Future dove into his cry for help bag. Throughout HNDRXX and on tracks like "HATE THE REAL ME", Future opened up about the parts of his life that weren't lavish and it felt like he had reached another level in his development as an artist. Choosing to revert to the style that made him who he is, Tricks on Me is the lone song on THE WIZRD that Future displays the vulnerability that placed HNDRXX so high in his discography.
The Bad
After SUPER SLIMEY, WRLD ON DRUGS, and BEASTMODE 2 were met with lukewarm responses to being forgotten entirely, it's understandable why Future would go back to the sound/subject matter that his fans and critics respond most positively to. However, it's not understandable why an artist as big as Future(four number one albums) even cares what the response will be.
The only negative about THE WIZRD is the fact that it's a sound and subject that Future already mastered.
Imagine a child crawling and the household goes crazy. Then a few months later the child stands up and takes a few steps and the household goes crazy. Then after a few hard falls the child goes back to crawling. You don't necessarily get disappointed in the child, but you're still waiting for that moment they fully put it all together.
Future came close to putting it all together, but it's like he can feel he's disclosing more information than his fans want and he just stops. He literally states this point with lines like "if this getting too deep for you, my nigga, pardon me."
Future knows what the people expect from him and by giving them what they want he's capping his own potential.
The Score
Although Future went back to crawling on THE WIZRD, the project was far from a step back. Instead, the project served as more of a "I can do this whenever I want". Whether it be due to label or fan pressure, Future refuses to unapologetically open up. He's admitted so in interviews and showed it with the safety of his 2017 back-to-back releases of the album the world wanted FUTURE and the album he got to express himself with HNDRXX.
Nevertheless, THE WIZRD is the Future the world loves along with the lightest parsley sprinkle of the artist Future proved he can be, making it another impressive project from Future Hendrix.
Score: High 7/10