Steve 'Flash' JuonIt’s so blindingly obvious that you need eclipse sunglasses — of course one of the biggest rappers and one of the biggest producers of the last 15 years would do an album together. As it turns out this collaboration was so long awaited that they did two albums together, so today we’re talking about Future x Metro Boomin’s “We Still Don’t Trust You,” which ironically enough is a double album in its own right (confusing I know). In case you’re wondering the other volume is called “We Don’t Trust You,” so both album titles echo MB’s trademark producer drop, which dates all the way back to a song Drake and Future did in 2015. It’s fair to say all of this has been a long time coming.
From where I’m standing though “double album” may be a bit inaccurate. It’s true that this is split into two separate discs physically, but the lengths are wildly different. The first volume is 18 tracks long totaling 1:09:09, while the second disc is 7 tracks totaling 19:24. That means disc one is over an hour (a full album) while disc two is under twenty minutes (which used to be an EP). The artists themselves have tried to justify that by saying the first part is “R&B focused” and the rest is “trap focused.” Does that explanation hold up when actually listening to the whole thing?
Yes. It might even hold up a little too well. While the cameos of A$AP Rocky on “Show of Hands” and Lil Baby on “All My Life” add significant weight to the shorter second album, they also make this portion much heavier compared to lighter fare like the title track and “All to Myself,” both featuring The Weeknd. I may be singular in holding the view that Future’s best fare has been commercially oriented, but for me his sing-song AutoTune delivery (which a whole generation has copied to various degrees of success) is ideal for a drive around town. Whether it’s on FM, XM or CarPlay, songs like these have always been the lick, and The Weeknd’s crooning fits perfectly next to Future’s in the mix.
Another minor inaccuracy that needs to be dispelled though is that Metro Boomin is the sole producer for all of these songs. He may get the title billing and the deejay drops, but even the title track is co-produced by Texas legend Mike Dean. You don’t have to look too far through the credits to find a slew of other familiar names, like Dre Moon & Chopsquad DJ on “Overload” or Honorable C.N.O.T.E. on the aforementioned “Show of Hands.” The only song Metro did entirely by himself is “Right 4 You” but to the credit of both artists it plays to their strengths. Metro gives Future an uptempo drum track and knows just the right times to pull the music back and let Nayvadius croon to his boo.
I’m gonna keep it real and tell you this should have been one disc. All my favorite cameos are on the first half — Ty Dolla $ign on “Gracious,” Brownstone (where have they been) on “Luv Bad Bitches” and J. Cole on “Red Leather,” the epic nearly seven minute long closer. It feels like the exclamation point on a good collaboration while everything on disc two feels like an afterthought. Maybe it’s a bit generous to say “fuck it” and ignore the remaining seven tracks when scoring this release… but it’s also my prerogative so I’m gonna do what I want to do. As far as I’m concerned “We Still Don’t Trust You” is a solid hour of music that came with an unnecessary bonus disc.