Written by: Oliver Heffron

Rating: 9/10

All heroes don’t wear capes–some wear Lanvin and bandanas. After pioneering a sound that’s heavily influenced the current psychedelic rage trap and touched nearly every popular genre over the last decade, Future and Metro Boomin don’t have much left to prove…but don’t tell them that.

On the duo’s first collab project, which plays on Future’s notorious producer tag for Metro Boomin, the veteran MC and trendsetting producer delivers a nearly flawless collection of cinematic trap portraits and auto-tune-drenched lamentations with WE DON’T TRUST YOU—a potent, carefully constructed exhibition of their patented sound’s visceral power and bittersweet melodic appeal.

It’s been nearly a decade since Future, aka Nayvadius DeMun Cash, made his prolific 2014-16 sprint to the top of hip-hop influence. He’s yet to give up his critical junction between hardcore Atlanta trap and mainstream, chart-topping pop (many don’t know he was a crucial writer on “Drunk In Love”).

However, diehard fans see the hunger in his work has given way to consistent complacency—delivering project after project that was listenable and scattered with hits yet lacked the urgency that first made Future great. Could he ever return to hunger and consistency of his Monster or DS2 days? This album answers that question with an emphatic yes.

WE DON’T TRUST YOU displays Future’s still more than capable of delivering relentless flows (“WTFYM”), underrated versatility (“Everyday Hustle”), and infectious melodies that could anchor a Rihanna album (“Runnin Out of Time”). No matter what Metro throws at him on the tracklist, the Dungeon Family alumnus proves he’s still up to the task with a return to rarefied form–spewing hypnotic barrages of autotune venom about drug-infused opulence, toxic romanticism, and head-line-worthy betrayals with a laser focus from the first track to the last. So, while many will understandably contextualize this album as a response to Drake, the project ultimately serves as a reminder of why Future has made such an indelible imprint on the genre: he is a sensational, one-of-a-kind artist.

Setting the scene with masterful production, Metro Boomin combines his recent foray into film scoring with homages to the raw origins of trap, like the vast melodic bed of keys and vocal samples building to a parade of distorted DAW horns on “We Don’t Trust You.” The chart-topping, water-cooler-talk-igniter “Like That” leans into early 00s influences with its triangle and piano groove and dissonant synth reminiscent of “Fireman,” perfectly setting up Future’s head-bopping hook and Kendrick’s vicious lyrical assault.

“Ice Attack” and “Magic Don Juan (Princess Diana)” feature mind-blowing beat switches, the latter of which stuns with its echoed bass booms that resonate like an IMAX FX through its second leg. “Cinderella” sees Metro dive into his film score bag with a sweeping sonic portrait of decadence through delicate keys and plucked Aegean harps, casting Future and Travis Scott’s melodic back-and-forth in the luxurious glow of a Mediterranean sunset.

With so many hip-hop albums featuring lengthy tracklists of underbaked songs, WE DON’T TRUST YOU stands out for its attention to detail and careful construction. While there could have been a few cuts, 17 tracks is a restrained effort in today’s marketplace. The project rewards a full listen with seamless transitions (“Magic Don Juan (Princess Diana)” to “Cinderella”), engaging BTS snippets, and impressive mixing.

Without being saturated with features, the album accentuates Future’s performances with well-placed vocals from Travis Scott and The Weeknd (“Young Metro”) while saving guest verses for distinguished few, like Playboi Carti on “Type Shit” or Rick Ross on “Everyday Hustle.” It truly feels like a project ripped straight from the peak of Future’s mixtape run–only more sonically ambitious and carefully executed.  

The main issue with this album’s near-perfect execution is that we’ve heard it before, and not just by Future and Metro Boomin. In their collaborations and work with other seminal artists like Young Thug, Travis Scott, and, yes, Drake, this rapper-producer combo has defined this current Atlanta trap-centric era of hip-hop, so their distinct imprints feel less striking when set against a decade of countless other artists imitating and influenced by their sound. Future and Metro Boomin’s last respective decades of influential dominance ironically overshadow their accomplishments on this album–its dark atmospheric beats and autotuned diatribes are now the standard for popular hip-hop after a decade of Atlanta dominance. 

Still, within the project's vacuum, Future’s return to rarefied form and Metro Boomin’s cinematic expansion of his patented trap production formula make WE DON’T TRUST YOU a near-flawless trap record. It’s a triumphant victory lap for two contemporary hip-hop legends who aren’t satisfied with their status. In an era when hip-hop’s competitive aspect seemed to have become a thing of the past, Future and Metro challenge their contemporaries with this album to step it up or keep being outdone.