Technically speaking, WE DON’T TRUST YOU is Future and Metro Boomin‘s first official joint project. Somehow that feels like an incorrect statement seeing as the two ATLiens have built what most would call the gold standard for trap rap over the last decade.
Future’s oozing Auto-Tuned vocals and catchy lyrics about the trials and tribulations of the trap laid over Metro’s infectious drum patterns and rattling 808s are practically modern rap gospel at this point. Which is why calling this joint album “their first collaborative project” doesn’t feel right. For almost a decade, Metro has been handling most of Future’s production on solo albums, collab albums and even multi-platinum loosies.
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That said, WE DON’T TRUST YOU carries a different tone than most other Metro and Future collaborations. This time around, it feels like those iconic producer tags are personified or have come to life. The songs are more poignant, pointed and purposeful — or at least the first few songs anyways.
As soon as listeners press play, they’ll immediately notice how ferocious, yet front-loaded this album is. The first six tracks are incredibly strong and make for a damn-near perfect EP. But, of course, there are 11 more tracks that get more and more mid the further you get down the tracklist. That isn’t to say that the last two thirds of the album is necessarily bad, it simply sounds like Foot Locker playlist background noise in comparison to the first half dozen tracks. For that reason, WE DON’T TRUST YOU doesn’t totally live up to its full potential.
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Title track “We Don’t Trust You” is a slow burning trap by numbers heater that lays out the duo’s thesis statement clearly: “Fake written all over you… we don’t trust you.” This seamlessly rolls into the Weeknd-assisted “Young Metro,” which might end up being the album’s most streamed track. Face-melting synths and rapid-fire hi-hats give Future and Abel space to get off some bars and subsequent croons.
“Ice Attack” and “Claustrophobic” are two trademark “Future prod. By Metro Boomin” songs that sound perfect now, and both could fit perfectly into a past project and will likely sound just as good in 10 years. “Type Shit,” which is a true assembly of modern rap’s Avengers, hears Travis Scott and Playboi Carti lend their own dystopian distorted vocals to Metro’s harrowing beat that can best be described as Medieval church bells drenched with thundering 808s.
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And then there’s the Kendrick Lamar verse on “Like That” — the type of verse that can both help and hinder an album. Despite the album having some truly high moments that highlight Metro and Future’s decade-defining chemistry, the streets and tweets will only talk about Kendrick’s Drake and J. Cole diss. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Kendrick very specifically takes shots at both rappers when he spits: “Fuck sneak dissin’, first person shooter/ I hope they came with three switches,” and, of course, the line everyone has been losing their minds over: “Muthafuck the Big 3/ It’s just big me.”
The verse itself is solid and the song goes hard as well but, similar to his genre-stopping verse on Big Sean‘s “Control,” it steals the show for the wrong reasons. Plus, rumors have been swirling for some time about Metro and Drake having their own apparent beef which just adds more fuel to the fire. So in some ways Kendrick actually keeps the alarming energy of the album alive with his battle bars – and in all honesty, fans might rejoice in the chaos that is surely about to be a very competitive summer 2024 in Hip Hop.
From this point on, however, the album loses steam quickly. One reason for this halt in attention is the lack of diversity in subject matter. Not that anyone is looking for Future to speak on political or economic state of the world but a ballad or two wouldn’t have hurt this album. It didn’t have to be an album chock full of ballads but WE DON’T TRUST YOU really doesn’t have many moments dedicated to the ladies. In the past, songs like “My Collection” or “I Won” would at least show Future’s softer side and broken up the pacing of an album of this length. Instead, this album is an hour of warning shots to those whom Metro doesn’t trust.
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There is a small glimmer of sound switch-up on the Rick Ross-assisted “Everyday Hustle.” It’s a perfect chopped, pitched and chipmunk’ed soul sample with snappy drums and hi-hats that is reminiscent of that “old Kanye” everyone knows and loves. Plus, Rozay’s verse is once again top notch.
In short, WE DON’T TRUST YOU should have been shorter. The first half dozen tracks, with a few other gems scattered scarcely throughout, show just how musically connected Metro and Future truly are but fans will be able to tell when the focused material ends and the frivolous filler starts. What should never be forgotten, though, is that Future and Metro have consistently delivered high-quality tracks that both push the limits of what’s trendy and timeless… at the same damn time.
RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2024
RECORD LABEL: Epic/Wilburn Holding Co. & Boominati Worldwide
Listen to WE DON’T TRUST YOU below:
