Over the past decade, Metro Boomin has made his presence heard in the trap game with some massive projects including “Without Warning,” “Savage Mode II” and “Not All Heroes Wear Capes.” Now, two years after the release of the highly acclaimed “Heroes and Villains,” Metro did it again… and in style. Packed with vehement bars and building melodies, “We Don’t Trust You” carries the energy we need going into the summer.
When Metro and Future posted two dates hinting at a collab album, fans were hyped. Metro is known to bring the best out of artists he works with, and we’ve seen this when the two have united on past albums. While Metro is no newcomer to the game, Future is a serious veteran. His versatility and mellow yet assertive vocals make him a go-to for features, whether on Taylor’s “Reputation” or Playboi Carti’s “Whole Lotta Red.” At first many fans didn’t believe this announcement would mean two albums, and rightfully so. It’s uncommon to see albums released so close to each other, especially at the level of quality we’ve seen from these two. Lucky for us, part two is confirmed and set to release on April 12.
The project begins with an orchestral buildup that sets the cinematic tone and takes us back to the symphonic “Heroes and Villains.” When we hit “Type Sh!t” things start to heat up, with a very ethereal feature from Travis Scott and a crazy verse by Playboi Carti in the same track. Plus the church bells on the beat are fire, and intensify the dark soundscape. It’s also cool to see Metro being a little more experimental with new sounds like this. With both Travis and Carti, It was shocking that the number one feature was not on this track. That came two songs later on “Like That,” and by none other than K Dot. That’s right, Kendrick Lamar found his way into Future and Metro’s album… probably a bigger surprise than the announcement of a double album. Before Kendrick even jumped in, it was clear this one was gonna be a hit. Metro was on something else when he made this beat – the trumpets and bass hits bring the energy instantly. But the verse brought it to another level, and Kendrick came out with some ruthless and left-field bars dissing both Drake and J Cole. Many fans were asking, “Why did he do it?”
There are many smaller factors that led up to this, but here’s the bigger picture: Kendrick, Cole and Drake have been grouped together often in debates over who is the GOAT of hip hop, so much so that they have been called “The Big Three.” However, while Kendrick and Cole are discussed for their quality of work and the messages in their music, Drake is considered largely for his ability to make hits and music that people may find easier to gravitate to. So when Drake and Cole dropped some lyrics suggesting that the three of them were on the same level as MC’s and depicted themselves as battling to see who the GOAT is in their “First Person Shooter” music video, Kendrick, the Pulitzer Prize and seventeen-time Grammy winner took it personally.
“Forget the big three, it’s just big me,” expressed Kendrick in his verse.
This diss track provided some context to the targeted lyrics by Future on earlier tracks, where he stated “fake written all over you,” and we even get a spoken sample on “Ice Attack” calling out unspecified rappers for being corny. It’s safe to assume we won’t see Drake and Future collaborating anytime soon.
After this we get a feature from Young Thug on “Slimed In,” another from Travis on “Cinderella,” and finally Rick Ross on “Everyday Hustle,” which has the best sample flip on the album and a sweet beat switch after Ross’s verse.
On the production side, we got a lot of what we’re used to in terms of Metro’s sound, which is a lot of piano and strings, as well as some heavier drum kits, but also some interesting sampling tossed in on tracks like “Everyday Hustle” and “Like That.” The sample on “Everyday Hustle” actually reminds me of the one used on “Feel the Fiyaaaah” off “Heroes and Villains” for the similar soulful quality. And for anyone wondering, that crazy trumpet loop on “Like That” was pulled from “Everlasting Bass” by Rodney O.
For anyone who is not super familiar with Future or Metro, if you like music that gets your energy up before a game, “We Don’t Trust You” has a lot to offer. You’ll enjoy it even more if you are into mumble rap, because of Future’s laidback style vocals. Lastly, if you like this album, you’ll like Offset’s “Set It Off,” 21 Savage’s “American Dream,” or “Dirty Nachos” by Chief Keef for something a little more aggressive.
There were a few skips, but also some crazy highlights throughout the album. I’m looking forward to “We Still Don’t Trust You,” and hope that the two exceed what we’ve heard so far, which is definitely possible if we get a more cohesive album like we did on “Heroes and Villains” with its seamless transitions, or like Travis Scott’s “Utopia” which held our attention through the whole project and experimented with a variety of sounds.
Hopefully you trust my review more than Future trusts…I don’t know Drake, maybe? And enjoy giving the album a listen!
