| |
Discussion: Complex: Future is the hottest rapper in the game
Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 4,822
|
Complex: Future is the hottest rapper in the game
Quote:
Earlier this month, Future performed in the middle of the bill on the first day of the Made In America festival, before the headliner, Beyoncé, and some other ostensibly higher billed artists like Big Sean. But the absolute frenzy that Future whipped the crowd into—and the fact that Beyoncé later took a moment to dance to "Where Ya At?"—seemed to speak to the scale of the impact he’s had on hip-hop in 2015. And not just on Twitter, where #FutureHive became the rallying cry of an allegedly ironic following, but out in the real world, in clubs and on car stereos and festival stages. There are other artists with bigger sales figures and concert grosses than Future, but in terms of energy and momentum, he is the hottest rapper in the game right now.
What was remarkable about Future’s Made In America set was not just the crowd reaction, but that most of the songs he performed, including the ones that generated the biggest reactions, were culled from the last 12 months. Last October’s mixtape Monster, followed in 2015 by the tapes Beast Mode and 56 Nights, and the retail album DS 2, pack in more crowd-pleasers than most rappers generate in their entire career. At the end of his set, Future announced plans to release another album later this year. A few days later, rumors started swirling of a collaborative mixtape with Drake. Another Future mixtape produced by Mike WiLL Made-It, Ape ****, has been promised for a few months. Future already has 3 of the most impactful hip-hop releases of 2015, and that number could possibly double by the end of the year.
After the guest-filled Honest, perhaps Future realized that he’d maxed out on his capacity to play well with others. Over the course of the three mixtapes that followed, a total of three guest rappers show up. Future has always come up with distinctive flows for his verses, but aside from the often imitated cadences on “Karate Chop” and “Sh!t,” his flows rarely drew as much attention as his hooks. And on some early hits like “Magic,” Future was strangely soft-spoken and short on memorable lines. With guest-free songs like “**** Up Some Commas” and “March Madness,” however, fans finally started to get an earful of Future’s verses, and it only made them want more. In 2015, DJ Esco can mute the track for a bar in the middle of a verse, and the crowd will shout out the line on command.
A full-length project by Drake and Future has the potential to bring one of the stranger friendships in contemporary rap full circle. Future was one of the first up-and-coming artists who Drake gave a verse to as a newly minted A-lister in 2011, but Future took offense when Drake declined to attend a video shoot for “Tony Montana.” Drake selected Future as the opening act for a tour in 2013, but then temporarily dropped him from the tour after Future made seemingly disrespectful comments in an interview. Their next collaboration, “Never Satisfied,” was truncated to a 2-minute snippet when Drake decided he didn’t want his verse to appear on Honest. And when Future announced in July that his new album was almost ready, Drake called him up and asked to appear on DS2, with his “Where Ya At” verse becoming the album’s only guest appearance.
The Drake/Future album, What a Time to Be Alive, is not exactly analogous Watch The Throne—DS2’s numbers, though encouraging, are dwarfed by any album Drake has released. But the fact that those two rappers are on equal footing enough to make an entire project together speaks to just how far Future has come, after years of being one of the far smaller stars in Drake’s orbit.
Whatever happens from here, 2015 will have been a special year for Future. Every now and again, a prolific rapper strikes that magic combination of quality and quantity, and it seems almost impossible how many great songs they can put out in one year. Lil Wayne did it a couple times, as did Gucci Mane, two artists that influenced Future’s music and his work ethic. And like those artists, Future now has a legacy and a unique place in the lineage of southern rap that comes from a tireless resilience in the face of career setbacks. Or, as Future says on “Where Ya At”: “The reason I’m here today, ‘cause I ain’t never gave up.”
|
http://complex.com/music/2015/09/how..._medium=social
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/20/2011
Posts: 26,615
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 22,877
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 12/16/2008
Posts: 59,380
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/3/2012
Posts: 42,099
|
He is. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 4,822
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Reinvention
|
rap fans dont even listen to her. Its pop fans
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/18/2010
Posts: 18,082
|
Quote:
Originally posted by UnusualBoy
Hottest? In what sense?
|
In the sense of hype, following, musical relevance, popularity etc at the moment. (Newsflash: I mean this in the Hip Hop community, not who white people like. Since I feel like this needs to be explained to alot of yall)
And it's true.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 4,822
|
Quote:
Originally posted by UnusualBoy
Hottest? In what sense?
|
Complex's words: scale of the impact he’s had on hip-hop in 2015
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/25/2011
Posts: 10,337
|
I feel the overwhelming praise he gets has lot to do with his brand, his authenticity, and his influence. Not 100% based on his music. Because to me, every track on DS2, and every track on his mixtape is the same song cut a different way.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 14,512
|
But aren't Drake, Kendrick, & J. Cole all hotter atm?
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/18/2010
Posts: 18,082
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Truffle.
But aren't Drake, Kendrick, & J. Cole all hotter atm? |
Not in the streets.
They are all "hotter" in terms of being more mainstream and having a larger white following. But this article is talking about in the Hip Hop community.
So no.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 3,898
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/8/2012
Posts: 8,828
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 5,776
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 4,822
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Eaten By Lions
I feel the overwhelming praise he gets has lot to do with his brand, his authenticity, and his influence. Not 100% based on his music. Because to me, every track on DS2, and every track on his mixtape is the same song cut a different way.
|
Listen to 56 Nights. His best project this year
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 19,418
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 11/18/2008
Posts: 60,607
|
I wouldn't put him before Drake and Fetty but I know in the streets he's the hottest one. As a whole its Drake and then Fetty.
|
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 18,861
|
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 19,418
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Reinvention
|
Rap fans don't use her + plastic surgery isn't seen as beautiful
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 4,822
|
Last year Complex crowned Nicki, respectively.
|
|
|
|
|
|
