By Cody Englander, Copy Editor

[William Holding Co; 2024]

Rating: 3/10

Key Tracks: PLUTOSKI, TEFLON DON, TOO FAST

Mixtape Pluto is Future’s third full-length project to release this year, accompanied with a handful of singles. We Don’t Trust You has been an album with a lot of staying power throughout the year, helped by Kendrick Lamar’s diss feature on “Like That,” although there are a handful of other standout tracks like “Type Shit” and “Young Metro.” His second project this year, We Still Don’t Trust You, is rougher around the edges, but the title track to begin the album and “Show of Hands” are songs worthy of multiple replays. With this new record, Future reverts to his mixtape days of the early 2010s, and his first mixtape since 2016. 

Read More: Single Review: Lizzy Alpine- Pushing it Down and Praying 

Much like early Future, certain tracks aren’t discernable from one another. It’s a catchy sound and Future’s voice sounds really good, although the beats, as well as Future’s sound on this, have not progressed since Purple Reign, his 2016 mixtape. The appeal to Purple Reign however are the nostalgic producer tags: Metro Boomin’s beats are more inspired, and the gritty sound makes it more desirable to replay. The album has a personality that Mixtape Pluto cannot curate for itself. 

The inability to create an album with personality had not been an issue with Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborations earlier this year, both with at the very least memorable parts of songs. Mixtape Pluto is made up of songs to play in the background of a college frat party, simply for background noise. I struggle to come up with notable songs for this album because everything meshes into one. Sure, songs sound different from one another, but there is so little variation which makes the album a burden rather than an enjoyable experience. 

The biggest hit, “PLUTOSKI,” is a key track. Although lyrics like “Trappin’ out the trap, oh, yeah” and “I’m thuggin’ the thug, oh, yeah” don’t give the audience much to gravitate to when the sound becomes repetitive. However, the first track “TEFLON DON,” which contains many references to the mob boss John Gotti, really sets a scene for an album I wish was the one we had gotten. 

Future is still able to construct an album and carry his distinct sound into his 40’s. And on that level, this is an admirable project. Despite his wavering vocal performance, he really makes his music more defined than his contemporaries. And for that, Future will always be a notable artist. It’s not exhausting to get through, because the tracks run pretty quick, and the mindless noise makes the project go by quicker. 

I’m not sure when Future will retire from making music, but I hope he’ll be able to go out with a project more special than this. While not outwardly offensive by any means, he’ll have always defined a generation of hip-hop, and has the catalog to show it. It’s a catalog that has become more and more distant with projects like these.