Similar to his 2014/2015 championship-winning mixtape streak, Future is making a play for 2017’s throne of ubiquity starting with his self-titled, featureless fifth studio album and now, ode-to-alter ego sixth outing in HNDRXX. Sidestepping the “play it safe route,” Future makes good on a recent promise to make his most personal project yet.HNDRXX could also be considered a musical turning point for the man who once popularized the concept of “Gucci Flip Flops” and cheating.
Whereas FUTURE was a high energy trap-a-thon geared toward the streets, HNDRXX is a somber look into where his life is at now. The subjects primarily circulate around his complicated relationship with women, drugs and wealth. At times, the album feels more like an R&B album as the ruminative “Never Messa Lost” serves as an example when he singles “See I got many type of flaws.” The opening track, “My Collection” has Future baring his soul about his relationships and self-medication as if he’s come to terms with being a walking contradiction. Sure, Future, along with damn near half of Atlanta, have become the poster children for Hip Hop’s controversial “mumble rap” subgenre. Considering HNDRXX’s lean toward R&B, his melodic yelps actually fit better here than other attempts in the past. Those ideas are permeated throughout HNDRXX ‘s hour-plus timespan. Using The Weeknd-assisted “Comin Out Strong” as an example, Future is at the point in his career where crafting catchy songs with a decent amount of depth is easy for him. However, leaving the street stuff behind makes him a lot more approachable outside of the R&B and rap spaces. Rihanna holds down HNDRXX’s other guest spot thanks to “Selfish” which could potentially become his biggest collaborative hit to date if it makes radio. If that doesn’t happen, “Incredible”, with its jovial 80s dance R&B attributes, should do the trick as well.
A reliable cadre of producers such as Metro Boomin, Southside, Dre Moon, DJ Mustard and even Jake One enable each record’s ability to glide between each track smoothly. The guitar and drum sounds of “I Thank You” makes the track a real standout as he expresses gratitude toward the woman who pushed him to hustle harder. HNDRXX does offer a take on classic Future minus the drug and gunplay through early tracks “Lookin Exotic” and “Damage.” The late night creep hymns of “Use Me” should make Bill Withers proud as his same-titled classic evokes the similar sentiment and marks the most romantically vulnerable a the Dungeon Family member has ever been this side of Andre 3000.
HNDRXX does lose steam during its final third as tracks including “Turn On Me,” which lays the sap on a little too thick and “Sorry,” which looks to be the soul-bearing closer but rehashes themes already championed on the album. They simply don’t maintain the same momentum as its early and mid portion. If one is going to add filler, might as well add them at the end as they don’t get in the way of the album’s best tracks.
Future didn’t have to abandon his comfort zone of trap bangers to rally his loyal following. Regardless, he tried his hand again fearlessly by fully shedding his superhuman trap star exterior and HNDRXX is better because of it. This isn’t just the Draco shooting, trap praising figure who thinks anyone who does more drugs than him are “Hallucinating.” HNDRXX provides a view into a modern rock star indulging in a side of himself that’s more thoughtful and dare one say, honest.
4.2… are you serious???? First you give RTJ a poor rating.. then you back Nicki Minaj over Remy Ma (for some reason) now you’re basically saying this album is better than section.80 (which got a 4.0) that’s right. Section.80. I have nothing against future and think this album wasn’t that bad, but at best it’s a 3.5, and that’s being generous. This site is a joke! Ps Trent Clark is the worst thing to ever happen to the world
Who listens to this and compared it to RTJ tho? Two completely different lanes and you have to know how to separate them. This album is dope point blank.
I’m not comparing this to rtj at all. You’re missing the point, the rating is what I’m talking about. This site gave it a poor rating (unlike every other site) which is why these reviews are jokes. This album isn’t that bad but it isn’t dope, it isn’t going down as a great album, definitely doesn’t deserve a 4.2. Neither did big Sean’s album. I don’t know what’s happening to this site!
They aren’t rated the same way.
I’m definitely feeling HNDRXX as this album is dope as hell. It may even get a Grammy nomination if things break right. Future did himself right by toning down all the drug use, drug selling, and gun talk by displaying growth and range as an artist. The album has a good balance of emotion, relatability, and still contains a little trap talk sprinkled in here and there. Future pulled it off to near perfection as the production is on point to match his lyrical delivery.
Please don’t say lyrical delivery. Dude mumbles high school bars on the same type of beats over and over
Love both albums
i’ll be the first one to say that i never really thought much of future’s earlier shit. definitely quite a few tracks that slap but thats about it. however, this album is fucking amazing. album of the year for me so far.
“Solo”, “Sorry”, “Comin Out Strong”, “Incredible”, “My Collection”, “Selfish” all sound great even tho i’m not a fan of future, but the rest all sounds the same, overall a pretty bland album. It would’ve been better if he combined the best tracks of each album (like Mask Off, Poppin Tags, Outta Time from the other album) together and made “Future Hendrix”.
This shit was wack. And I’ve listened to it multiple times thinking it would grow on me. It stayed wack.
Fire
Wack, soft, and annoying.
LMFAOOOOO I called this! I literally said HipHopBS was going to rate Futures new shit a 4.0+ in the Migos review comment section, You guys are so predictable, now let’s see if you delete this comment too, assholes
#StillBetterThanMigos #Facts
DX is cancer to Hip Hop, so is Future. Can’t wait til ya’ll disappear. “Most human album yet”…. fucking pathetic Is he an Alien or omehting?
I’m clearly on a different wavelength to these HHDX reviewers because I just don’t get the appeal. A lot of good rap gets released and this ain’t in that league. For a site that loves giving out so many 3.5s I find it disappointing that mindless generic material like this gets singled out for 4+ treatment. I feel like I’m being generous giving this a 3 but I have to give some due credit to the producers.
I absolutely love this album and “Turn on Me” is probably my favorite track along with “Keep Quiet”
This is arguably Futures best project
I think PND ghostwrote this album
But this same site gave A Tribe Called Quest new album a 4.4 and Future gets a 4.2…you’re trying to tell me Future is in the same league as Q-Tip and the late great Phife? Is this some kind of joke????
It’s also rated the same as a real rap album like Do What Thou Wilt, higher than way better rap albums like TLOP and 4YEO and higher than better rnb efforts like Views and Starboy
Well TLOP is unbearably awful. So there’s that. I’d rather hear Future lyrics than to hear Kanye West talk about his d*ck every song or ruin a great Cudi chorus with absolute trash verses. But maybe they rate it on how enjoyable it is rather than how important it is to hip hop like you guys are thinking. Cuz Kanye would get a 1.
hahahahha i downloaded this album (for free) and i could not stop laughing at the lyrics. even my girlfriend who is a part time hip hop fan was in hysterics. omg this type of rap is so basic. its borderline embarrassing. but hiphopdx rates it on the same level as a tribe called quests new album which is one of the great classic albums of this era. wow. how hip hop has fallen.
i rate it a 1/5 just because its an album any person in the world could make if they had the same beats.
There’s actually a couple of decent tracks on this, but the whole album would be pretty decent if Future wasn’t on it.
I honestly havent had time to listen to FUture hendrix…still digesting the first one…lol
crazy
The problem is, this “new wave” majority of you kids like to listen too is NOT hip hop / rap and this is supposed to be a hip hop website. This music is more POP than anything else and that’s OK but again it is NOT hip hop. Last time I checked, singing and mumbling is NOT rapping. If you know hip hop history and have a passion for hip hop music, like the people you see on here complaining, then you would understand the frustration of this so called “new wave” tainting the name of Hip Hop. As for this album, some of the beats are OK but every song sounds the same. The lyrics (if you want to call them that) are below average. This album seems rushed with no originality and obviously lacking content. If my 3 yr old nephew can recite the “lyrics”, then no thank you, I’m good. And for you people on here saying to stop comparing this trash to actual hip hop albums, look at where you are, a “hip hop” website. So for as long as music companies continue to label and put this trash music in the Hip Hop / Rap genre…..You will get checked with the realness.
5 or 6 pretty good tracks, everything else is garbage. Very disappointed, miss DS2
Is this really better than RTJ 1 and 3, the Impossible Kid, Atrocity Exhibition and I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside? Really now? Get the fuck outta here.
Music is changing big-time and artists like Future are making it happen! 2 albums in two-weeks love it!
pretty good but not ds2
forgot to rate
It is often painful listening to him whine his way through, with the exception of a few tracks it is utterly forgettable and not a patch on his self-titled. Stick to hard hip-hop Future and leave this Hendrix side alone
Love certain songs!
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