Metro Boomin and Future have been teaming up on tracks for a long time now, with the producer taking care of most of the production on Future’s solo albums for the majority of the 2010s. That being said, WE DON’T TRUST YOU is the duo’s first official collaborative project, and one that opens on the kind of high-note fans would expect.
The album’s eponymous opening track starts off slow, with a soft piano melody, a simple drum beat, and some muffled, high-pitched choir vocals that contrast Future’s deep tone as he discusses separating fake friends from real: “Hate written all over you, Fake written all over you.” The track transforms in the last 40 seconds as the synths suddenly kick in, quickly transitioning into the following track “Young Metro”. The rapid hi-hats and eerie synths create the perfect beat for Future to casually glide on, and the vocals from The Weeknd that Metro mixes throughout the track only add to its mysterious vibe.
We’re given two more feature tracks within the first six songs, the first being “Type Shit”, which sees Travis Scott and Playboi Carti bring their own signature styles to the song. The instrumental is utterly absurd, with church bells providing the main melody over a classic trap beat that manages to suit all three rappers at the same time. The second of these features is Kendrick Lamar’s surprise appearance on “Like That”, which has undoubtedly stolen the show on this project. Kendrick makes it clear that he’s the best rapper in the game, and shows us that isn’t changing any time soon in a verse that delivers infectious flows, clever wordplay and hard-hitting bars as he calls out peers Drake and J. Cole: “Fuck the big three, its just big me."
Along with “Ice Attack” and “Claustrophobic”, the first six tracks of this album are a near perfect run of team-ups between Metro Boomin and Future. Unfortunately, the remainder of this record does not carry this same consistent quality, and my enjoyment of the following songs varied greatly. The main problem for me stems from a lack of excitement, containing too many filler tracks with beats that sound too similar and lyrics from Future that get tiresome too soon. The duo seems to feel more comfortable sticking with what they know best, rather than challenging each other with a more experimental instrumental or some emotionally resonant lyrics.
There are still a handful of enjoyable joints to be found though, such as the melodic “Runnin Outta Time”, where Future delivers one of his strongest vocal performances on the record over a beat on which Metro mixes soft piano keys, soulful church organs and faded electric guitars. “Everyday Hustle” is another standout, with a Kanye-esque beat from Metro that samples Alfreda Brockington’s “I’ll Wait For You”, as well as Mr. West himself as Metro throws in the drums from “Good Morning” on the latter half of the track. Rick Ross delivers a feature verse straight out of the top drawer, feeling perfectly at home on a beat like this.
If this album had been shortened down to its best ten or so tracks, it could have been one of the duo’s best collaborations to date, and a perfect predecessor to their second album set to release in April. However, the project features far too much filler, and at times feels afraid to do anything to daring with its sound. Future and Metro’s projects have usually been the benchmark for trap music this past decade, and it’s a shame to see that they haven’t pushed the genre to the limit again on this record. However, WE DON’T TRUST YOU still features a number of songs that display why the duo has been on top for so long, and lets us know that despite having some misses in the mix, Future and Metro Boomin have still got it. Hopefully the follow-up album can manage to maintain the level of quality of WDTY’s best tracks for its full duration, and push the genre of trap to new heights once again.
★★★☆☆