Future may well be one of hip hop’s finest hitmakers. A bonafide legend in the game despite his comparatively short career, what Future has done with hip hop is something few can match. Whereas countless artists have been rappers or singers, or producers, Future manages to combine all three effortlessly.
Whether it is his high-pitched falsetto or his fire-breathing bars, Future is capable of changing the entire mood of the room through one single line. Since becoming a part of the legendary Atlanta rap collective The Dungeon Family, Future has excelled in providing classics throughout his career. Below, we’ve picked out our five favourites.
There’s something distinctly modern about Future, and it’s not just his name. The artist hasn’t only embraced all of the techniques available to him in a 21st-century studio but also spoke of distinctly contemporary issues. One, in particular, he is fluent in — hedonism. Though not an entirely modern venture, the way Future raps about sex, money and drugs is purely intoxicating.
When mumble rap started to explode, Future was at the cutting edge, delivering some of the genre’s greatest anthems. Pusha T noted: “Future made people understand the mumble and, for that, he will go down in history as a GOAT!” Considering the man behind the statement, that is a seriously glowing endorsement.
Below, we’re picking out our five favourite future songs of all time to remind you of his incredible talent.
The five best songs by Future:
5. ‘I Serve the Base’
There’s a primal feeling one gets when the bass hits just right, and, on Future’s song, ‘I Serve The Base,’ we get to go back to our caveman roots. The track not only acts as a vibrating reminder of Future’s talent but of his roots too.
As the rapper tells his story, he confirms that nobody really helped him along the way, and Future is now bigger and badder than ever: “They tried to make a pop star, and they got a monster!”
4. ‘Hardly’
Give a rapper a free studio, and chances are they will do one of two things: they’ll either deliver an anthemic bar designed to rouse and rile their audience, or they will use that booth as a point of confession. ‘Hardly’ is the latter.
The simple chorus cuts through the guff and delivers Future’s message with aplomb. Future confides that his drug use isn’t to have a good time but to prevent him from exacting revenge on those who have wronged him.
3. ‘Perkys Calling’
After the tragic deaths of contemporaries Lil Peppe and Mac Miller, both at the hands of drugs, Future delivered one of his most serious songs on the 2016 mixtape Purple Reign. The song is an honest and frank reflection of addiction and Future trying to deal with his own commercialisation of drugs.
As countless rappers struggled around him, this track remains one of Future’s brightest moments, highlighting that he wasn’t just the guy for good times but for all times.
2. ‘My Collection’
From one extreme to another. Here, rather than finding the empathy in the world, Future lets loose and delivers a poisonous tome that takes aim at an ex who left him. A brutal and unflinching recalling of such an event puts this as one of Future’s most vicious songs.
The video tells you everything you need to know about the song as Future channels his inner-Marshall Mathers to provide a genuinely scary insight into the mind of an isolated and bitter man.
1. ‘Mask Off’
If the previous four songs were news to you, then ‘Mask Off’ is most certainly the Future song you didn’t know you liked. A pure classic from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that makes Future so bulletproof. Propelled by the now-iconic lead flute, Future delivers one of his unquestionable hooks.
There isn’t much to really learn from Future on this track. But, if there’s one thing, it is that he knows how to throw down an earworm. ‘Mask Off’ is unstoppable catchy. It speaks highly of Future’ pop sensibilities. In all essence, it does what every Future song should do — it leads you to the dancefloor.
