Atlanta-based rapper Future released “MIXTAPE PLUTO,” his third album of the year on Friday, Sept. 20.
“MIXTAPE PLUTO” comes on the heels of the albums “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” and “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU,” which were released in March and April 2024, respectively. Both were produced by Metro Boomin and across the two albums, notable artists were featured, including: Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and Playboi Carti.
“MIXTAPE PLUTO,” on the other hand, is a 17-track desert with no features. As its name suggests, the project is a mixtape rather than an album. There are no transitions between songs, nor is there a continuity of themes between songs.
“TEFLON DON,” the opening track, samples the main theme in “The Godfather” film series and makes references to the Mafia. Future raps, “Beat the first case like John Gotti,” referencing the Gambino crime family boss of the same name who was notoriously difficult to bring down in court.
“SURFING A TSUNAMI” contains the best vocal performance of the project. Mellow tropical soundwaves bloom during the chorus, which provide the perfect cushioned undertone for Future’s insistent, yet soft singing. After the second verse, the vocals and beat both trail off, leaving a pause before the chorus and instrumentals swing back in to carry listeners back into a trance.
Other tracks on the album bear heavy resemblances to songs that Future has already released. “SKI” and “PRESS THE BUTTON” are two of the most obvious; their fast paces and dark, ominous beats make them strong fits for the second disc of the “WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU” album. In “PRESS THE BUTTON,” a woodwind whistles eerily in the background, adding a subtle yet intentional synthesized touch, which is one of the joys of Future’s lyrics.
“SOUTH OF FRANCE” features Christmas carol-esque choir tones trapped underneath the trap beat, rising and falling at the end of each line. The track “OCEAN” fittingly includes a sample of seagulls chirping at the beginning. These unique and specific touches elevate Future’s music above that of most other trap artists.
The most unique song on the mixtape is “LOST MY DOG,” a slow, morose lamentation over the drug-induced deaths of some of Future’s friends. “Lost my dog to fentanyl / his body couldn’t absorb it.”
The high-pitched female vocals accompanying the mournful beat, along with the gentle and unusually clearly-enunciated rapping, make this track a valuable change-of-pace for the project.
Yet the mixtape is not without its flops. During the chorus of “PLUTOSKI,” Future abandons language together and instead repeatedly moans out some combination of a groan and a hum. In “MADE MY H-E FAINT,” a track which samples “The Hills” by The Weeknd, Future’s flow never finds its footing within the fast beat.
The vocals in “TOO FAST” never catch on with the instrumentals; the chorus is flat and unsurprising. Even “TEFLON DON” — outside of its Mafia references and notable sample — devolves into dullness as the verses drag on.
Too many of these tracks lack any sort of catchy refrain or snatch of lyrics which will keep a listener coming back. As a result, it is difficult to see this project as anything more than a hodgepodge of songs which were in such raw and unfinished condition that they did not fit on any of Future’s other albums.
I give this mixtape a 6/10. Overall, many of the tracks are either so similar to Future’s established brand of music that they are forgettable or feel like leftovers from the “WE DON’T TRUST YOU” albums. Though there are shimmers of greatness in some songs —– and despite Future’s bold creative choices sprinkled throughout —– no individual tracks are memorable enough to anchor or define the project.
