"While Drake dominated the annual commercial metrics, it was Future who truly advanced rap songcraft and best represented the state of the culture. Once a cult favorite and underestimated scion of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family, and then, briefly, a mainstream hopeful, Future is now the most influential rapper of the moment, with traces evident in the styling of young rappers from Chicago, Sacramento, L.A., New York, and, of course, Atlanta. As the Long Beach rapper Vince Staples has noted, contemporary hip-hop has promoted the dope fiend to equal footing with the pusher. Future, with his woozy disaffection and pockets full of spite, is the cold culmination of this “lean-induced self-involvement,” as the music critic Julianne Escobedo Shepherd recently put it.": Neocities.
Future'sMixtapes and Album Covers
On September 20, 2015, Future released a collaborative mixtape with Canadian rapper Drake, titled What a Time to Be Alive.[31][32] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, Billboard R&B Charts, and Billboard Hot Rap Songs, marking the first time a rapper was able to score two number one albums in a year, in 11 years, since Jay Z back in 2004. The mixtape has sold over 334,000 copies in the U.S.[33] On January 17, 2016, Future released another mixtape, titled Purple Reign, with executive production from Metro Boomin and DJ Esco, as well as beat credits from Southside, Zaytoven and more.[34] On February 5, 2016, Future premiered his fourth studio album, EVOL, on DJ Khaled's debut episode of the Beats 1 radio show We The Best.