This is unfortunate: as the third record to come before we’ve even reached the halfway point of 2016, it’s starting to feel like Future is dropping music just to stay relevant rather than showing the hunger, originality and insight into his mental state that put him in this position in the first place.Īfter the laid back, chilly intro that uses audio samples of news reports on UFOs and aliens, the tape tries to charge up and hit hard with “Check On Me” but it falls flat. Despite a few strong records, this is a much less inspired Future than the one we’ve seen over the past year. While Esco Terrestrial is technically DJ Esco’s project, the weight of it is carried by Future, as he appears on all but two songs on the tape. This a new mixtape, Project E.T.: Esco Terrestrial, could be considered his third project of the year, following both Purple Reign and * EVOL** *good projects in their own right, but neither bringing anything like an evolution to what came before. The takeaway, in Future’s mind at least, was to keep doing the same thing. It seemed like whatever he released couldn't miss.

He dominated the year with three mixtapes (the first, Monster, technically came out in late 2014) in addition to the album DS2**, and a joint project with Drake. “Then they take me to the jail cell and I never came back out.This sort of relentless clip was a major factor in Future’s comeback in 2015. In a first-person recollection published to The Fader in January 2015, Esco clarified what happened next. Police allegedly detected weed on his person, and told Esco that he could be detained for a “couple of days” while the matter was sorted. On a fateful day in November 2014, DJ Esco was arrested by Dubai police after landing in Abu Dhabi for a show from Amsterdam, where he was celebrating his birthday with friends. Coupled with the post-jail creative energy that DJ Esco admits fueled his curation of the mixtape, 56 Nights was as fitting a way as ever to not only close the mixtape trilogy, but whet the world’s appetite.ĭS2, one of the most anticipated sequels of the 2010s, would unexpectedly be announced and released just four months later. The success of Monster and Beast Mode-the latter of which sprung its own DSP debut last week-made a quick-succession Future project almost inevitable in the spring of 2015. “All these cops killing n****s, tragic,” wails Future on the song’s grief-stricken chorus.ĥ6 Nights is recognized as the third mixtape in Future’s unofficial ‘return to Atlanta’ trilogy ( Monster, Beast Mode, 56 Nights), released over the course of five months from 2014 to 2015. “March Madness” reached perhaps an even higher peak, becoming a rallying cry throughout the digital hip hop community as it took police brutality to task in the early days of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. “Trap” would go on to receive bonus track placement on Future’s the double-platinum DS2, and a Gold certification from the RIAA. Amongst its original 10 tracks reside “Trap N****s,” which was subsequently released on DS2, and “March Madness,” two of the most beloved records in Future’s catalog. What 56 Nights lacks in volume, it compensates for with impact.

Futuredj esco