One thing that I have always really admired about Future is that he has always done everything his way. He really does not seem to care what anyone thinks of him or what anyone thinks he should do. When you are as popular and successful as Future is, there really is not any reason to listen to people trying to tell you what to do. This man has been a model of consistency since he first became popular in the early 2010s, and he has been as prolific as anyone in the music game during this time as well. Future does not seem to have an off button; all he seems to know how to do or want to do at this point is make more music. At this point, why should he stop? Every project he releases ends up topping the charts, and every year we get multiple great singles and/or features from him that will be popular for years to come. It does not matter if he releases one album in a year or four, all of them will reach at least top ten in the charts because he is so popular and ultimately so good. Even though he tends to stick to his tried and true formula, Future’s sound never really seems to get stale. Future is definitely very aware of what he excels at, and he knows what his audience wants to hear from him. Because of this, Future knows that he really does not need to sit down and make themed albums or concept albums anymore. His fan base would rather hear a compilation of bangers with great features from other Trap artists, so this is what his “albums” have consisted of over the last couple of years. It is kind of funny, because Future used to be known for these deep and intricately themed records, and now he is more known for basically just chasing the hit. If there is any Trap artist in the game right now that is just going to chase hits(that isn’t a lower level Trap artist that is just trying to blow up because that is all those guys do), then it may as well be Future because he is great at it. With that being said, instead of reviewing this record, I am just going to write about what my favorite songs are from it. Even though Future’s new record High Off Life does not have much of a concept, but it does have a ton of potential hits. Let me know in the comments if you agree with my picks for the best songs on High Off Life, and if you don’t, comment what your favorite tracks are instead.

TOUCH THE SKY

It seems like it is pretty fitting for the first song on a list of great tracks by Future would have that infamous Southside on the Track producer tag. Southside and Future have sort of made names for each other. They are both so talented on their own, and they basically came up with each other; so many of Southside’s best-produced songs were made by Southside, and so many of Future’s most iconic verses and flows have come on instrumentals made by Southside. The instrumental for this song actually reminds me of a lot of Future’s greatest hits; specifically, the horns in the background and beat remind me a lot of ‘Stick Talk,’ which was actually produced by Southside himself as well as Metro Boomin. One thing that makes ‘Touch the Sky’ really stand out is Future’s higher-pitched vocal tone than normal and the way he fluctuates his vocals on this song. Obviously, Future is known for his husky and dark and low voice, the lighter and higher pitch he uses on this song sounds really good and adds an element to the song that really makes it stand out. ‘Touch the Sky’ would be the perfect song to play for “haters” that say all of Future’s music is the same. All in all, ‘Touch the Sky’ is just a banger, and it’s an excellent example of why Future and Southside are so awesome individually and as a duo.

SOLITAIRES FEAT. TRAVIS SCOTT

I have to say that I would be very surprised if the song ‘Solitaires’ does not blow up and not become one of the biggest(if not the biggest) songs from this project. People who are fans of fast-paced Party-Trap music or people who are just big fans of Travis Scott will definitely love this song. ‘Solitaires’ has a very dreamy and atmospheric quality to its melody; the melody is provided by a simple dark and creepy piano riff with a bunch of airy synths sprinkled throughout the song in the background to provide some texture to it. One of the best things about this track is all of the ad-libs provided by Travis Scott in the background. Travis is definitely one of the best in the business at creating these ad-libs, and hearing him yell yeah! and it’s lit! in the background totally enhances the quality of every song that he is a part of. Both artists really flow so fluidly during their verses on this track. I especially love Future’s verse because and overall contributions because of the multiple vocal tones he uses and the way he switches up his flow. One thing I will say about this song is that is sort of feels more like a Travis Scott song that a Future song. The instrumental is so similar to a lot of Travis’ best stuff on his albums Rodeo and Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. ‘Solitaires’ is easily one of the most fun songs on this album, and if you are a big fan of either of these artists or if you just love the Trap music meant for turning up, it is a song that you should download right away.

TOO COMFORTABLE

It would probably be pretty silly of me to not include the song from this album that was not a single and has already become a meme. If you have not seen the animated videos made using this song online yet, please go on twitter and search for them because they will definitely make you chuckle. ‘Too Comfortable’ is another track that reminds me a lot of the music that Future blew up making years ago. Unsurprisingly, this instrumental that has elements very similar to some of Future’s biggest hits also has a production credit from Southside. I feel like anytime I hear a new Future song that seems to teleport me back to my car in 2013, I can assume that Southside had something to do with making the instrumental. Lyrically, this song is not too far from what we expect from Future as well. Future is letting the girls he is hanging out with know that they are replaceable to him and that he will drop them in a second for someone else, so they better listen to him and do what he wants. The sentiment of this song is not very nice or good, but it is a total banger and very fun to listen to, and I assume that ‘Too Comfortable’ is going to be one of the biggest hits from this album judging from how popular it is already becoming.

TRILLIONAIRE FEAT. YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN

I have to admit that I have never really given Youngboy’s music much of a track. He has become such a weird and hilarious meme online over the last year or so that it has been tough for me to take anything he does seriously; even though he has released some tracks that have done very well over this time, I just could never get myself to check him out because of all those hilarious Tik Toks, man. ‘Trillionaire’ is a song that makes me a believer in Youngboy, though, because it is just so good. If his solo music has the same quality as his performance on this song, it would be tough to not become a big fan of him. ‘Trillionaire’ is a pretty soft-sounding Trap track compared to most of what one would expect from Future. It has a pretty melancholy and sad melody and a Pop-Trap that reminds me a lot of some of Juice Wrld or YNW Melly’s biggest hits. I never have really thought of Future as the kind of artist to start making Emo Trap(his intense, gruff, and super confident nature has always made him seem like this style of music may not suit him well), but Future proves on this song that he can kill it at this sound as well. Going back to Youngboy, though, my favorite parts of this song are the sections of the song that include him. I especially like the way he sings the chorus and the cool back and forth rapping that he does with Future in the first verse. Future and Youngboy have such cool chemistry with each other on this song, and I would really love to hear them make more music together.

ALL BAD FEAT. LIL UZI VERT

At this point, unless you are one of those artists that likes to make albums that contain very little to no features, it is pretty rare to hear a good Trap album these days that does not contain at least one feature from Lil Uzi Vert. Uzi has not only taken over the Trap game as a solo artist and become of the best artists in the genre, but he has also because one of the best and most sought after artists to get a feature from in Trap music as well. Uzi has such an influence on the work he does that it seems like he directly affects the sound of every song he features on; it is like if you are going to ask Lil Uzi Vert for a feature, you have to use an instrumental that he would love and potentially use on one of his own songs. ‘All Bad’ is a song that fits this bill perfectly; this instrumental sounds like it came right off of one of his early mixtapes. I really love the bright and colorful synths which have a major video game quality that are used as the melody in this song; it is impossible to have ‘All Bad’ come on and not have your mood immediately lifted just because of how fun this melody and overall instrumental sound. ‘All Bad’ is yet another example of why Future and Lil Uzi Vert are so great both as solo artists and as a duo. Their voices and flows compliment each other so well and sound so catchy on the chorus and the post-chorus, and both of their verses are just very fun to listen to as well. ‘All Bad’ is a song that I will be playing frequently in the near future, and it is one of the top highlights from High Off Life for sure.

LAST NAME FEAT. LIL DURK

One thing that I really enjoy about this record is how Future seems to be adapting to the sound of his features on every song that has other artists on it. In the past, typically if you are going to rap on a Future album, you have to adapt to Future’s signature sound and create your own chemistry with it. This not a bad thing, because Future’s sound is so iconic and memorable, but it is not necessarily an easy thing to do since his music is usually so dark and intense. On High Off Life, though, Future is embracing the sounds of other artists and the sounds of the Future, which is just expanding his own repertoire and showing that he can make any kind of Hip Hop song he wants. Compared to what one would expect from Future, ‘Last Name’ has a pretty soft feeling to it; it actually feels a lot more like Pop-Trap than pretty much anything he has made besides his music with Drake. This song has a major R&B feeling to it that reminds me a lot of Ty Dolla $ign. It is super chill and easy to listen to and would be perfect for a blunt cruise. On ‘Last Name,’ Future and Lil Durk are really getting into their feels about what they have been through, particularly problems with women. Future thinks every woman that wants him is just trying to extort him for money; this may be true, but maybe he should start wearing a condom so he does not have to pay so much child support to them. Regardless of Future’s toxicity, ‘Last Name’ is a really good song, and it is yet another example of how diverse he can be as a rapper and artist.

100 SHOOTERS FEAT. MEEK MILL AND DOE BOY

I do not think there is a song that is produced by Tay Keith that I have not really enjoyed. I mean, this guy is crazily talented; just the fact alone that he has a production credit on ‘Sicko Mode’ at 23 years old shows he is the real deal. ‘100 Shooters’ is another great example of how crazy these guys beats can go. This track is like a more modern and more pop version of some of Future’s best music in the past. Specifically, this instrumental reminds me a lot of ‘Mask Off;’ anytime you make a song that is reminiscent of that classic, it is bound to be a hit. Future’s performance is cool on this 100 Shooters,’ don’t get me wrong, but the thing I really love about this song is the features. I do not think there is a song I have heard that features Meek Mill that I haven’t loved; this guy brings so much energy and confidence to every song he is one and it is so palpable. Listening to Meek Mill always motivates me because of this. Doe Boy, who is one of the newest artists to sign to Future’s FREEBANDZ record label, sounds supernatural on this instrumental and flows so cleanly on it. I am excited to listen to more of his music soon, because it is obvious from his performance on this track that he is the real deal.