Much has been made of Futureâs triumphant 2015 run, a streak sensationalized by many as a comeback story, but last yearâs career obituaries were simply premature. Revisionist historians have written off his sophomore album, 2014âs Honest, as a flop, but there was never really any sizable drop off in quality or chart success; instead, there was merely a drastic change in perception, one that saw Future recast as the premier rap romantic, which came with weightier expectations. Following the success of rap ballads âTurn Off The Lightsâ and âNeva Eva,â contributions on Rihannaâs âLoveeeeeee Songâ and Ciaraâs âBody Partyâ (Remix), and a short-lived relationship with the latter, Future embraced becoming a rap balladeer. But when his celebrity romance soured, he responded petulantly and publiclyâfirst on Mike Will Made Itâs âPussy Overrated,â then on his Monster mixtape, and the critical consensus quickly turned on him. Recently, he was able to restore his fading buzz with a strong pair of mixtapesâthe Zaytoven-producedBeast Mode and the 808 Mafia-produced 56 Nightsâand belated surges for Monster highlights âFuck Up Some Commasâ and âCodeine Crazy,â which restored fervor within the #FutureHive and led to a retroactive appreciation of that tape and Futureâs overall work ethic.
Itâs that series of events, plus the incarceration of Futureâs DJ, Esco, in Dubai, that has led us to Dirty Sprite 2, Futureâs third studio album, the (sort of) sequel to his standout 2011 mixtape. DS2 is the culmination of the most tumultuous year of his young career, leading to the resurrection of his reckless, often completely self-indulgent Future Hendrix persona, weaponizing his glazed croak for a lean-driven opus. The drug has always played an important role in his narrative, but more recently itâs served as the crux of his rebirth, paving the way for some of his most affecting and haunting writing. Future spent the early part of his career as a certifiable hit maker re-imagining trap through a grizzly auto-tune with melody driven cadences that articulated emotions through croaks and yawps. These days, heâs developing his pen game, trying out trickier technical schemes and verbally navigating his unrestrained id with a silver tongue.
On Dirty Sprite 2 Future continues to refine the druggy, codeine-varnished universe he created on 56 Nights, burrowing deep inside slurry productions with slashing flows, seemingly deepening the chasm in his tortured soul and numbing the pain with pharmaceuticals. Constantly conflicted, he lunges full thrust into a double cup. While both Dirty Sprites do share a syrupy inspiration, this is a sequel in name only; the one real connection between the two projects is Zaytoven, who shows up on each installment, but, since the tape, he has evolved into a full-on trap maestroâhis newer Future productions, both on Beast Mode and DS2 (âColossalâ), have an inspired âchurch organ in an active bandoâ feel. The rest of the production is handled primarily by Metro Boomin and 808 Mafia co-founder Southside (who produced most of 56 Nights), and together they help forge the crucible wherein Future dually explores his hedonism and his sadness.
As the beats get darker, so does Future. On the gun wielding âStick Talk,â he talks surviving street violence (âI canât believe the blood ainât on my shirt/ Because he got hit close-rangeâ). The despondent âBlood On The Moneyâ finds him washing the blood out of his stashed drug cash and struggling to cope (âThat Easter Pink: I tried to give it up, I canât give it upâ). He barrels through âGroupiesâ with a hoarse growl before immediately changing gears on âLil Oneâ with a more methodical cadence that slips carefully into the pockets. âFreak Hoeâ is some of the most technically sound rapping heâs ever done: âPretty girls reppinâ âPretty Gangâ fuckinâ wit the kiddo/ Type to fuck a hood nigga good, then tell em âdittoâ/ Went from 5 on the indo, 30 rounds in the extendo/ Fuck a friend though, ainât pretend though/ Nigga coming through sprayinâ at the window/ Get the memo, got a line, on Chyna White/ But I ainât even got no info.â Dirty Sprite 2 doesnât survey any new territory for the croaking crooner, but it magnifies the depth of his distress and channels it into an even richer multilayered sonic experience.
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On bonus cut âKno The Meaning,â Future raps, âBest thing I ever did was fall out of love.â Itâs a depressing idea that has proven to be true: the implosion of his love life and the after effects of heartache seem to have directly inspired his creative renaissance. On DS2âs best track, the blaring and disorienting âI Serve The Base,â he echoes that sentiment saying, âA nigga was depressed now my mind back healthy;â his miracle cure and sonic steroid: dirty sprite. But just before that, self-aware as ever, Future makes a poignant realization about how this all came to pass: âThey tried to make me a pop star and they made a monster.â In a weird twist of irony, Futureâs regression from star-to-be to savage has made him bigger and better than heâs ever been.