Hi, everyone. Bigthony Sneezetano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Future mixtape, Mixtape Pluto.

Here we have the newest project from rapper, singer, songwriter, trap, game changer, Future, who is staying on track with his notoriously busy output schedule with a new mixtape. And just to avoid any confusion as to how exactly he is categorizing this batch of tracks, he literally titled it Mixtape Pluto. The question, though, is what does a mixtape for Future at this point in his career even mean?

I mean, it's been a year since he's effectively graduated into the mainstream of hip hop and became one of the most influential rappers of the past 10 years. His impact is felt massively to this day, not just in the popularity of every project that he touches, but also the fact that many of the youngest, hottest rappers out there right now are copying his blueprint to a tee. Even Playboy Carti's new single, "All Red", sounds so similar to a future, instrumentally and vocally. It sounds like he used one of those AI voice generators to make it. I mean, that song could have even landed on this mixtape.

Not to mention the Future tracks from 10 years ago, like "Groupies", for example. It sounds like he was laying the groundwork for what would be this rage wave we're in the midst of.

So needless to say, out there in the current rap landscape, there is a lot music right now that is inspired pretty directly by Future. Again, the entrancing repetitive beats, the heavy use of autotune, the throaty vocal inflections, the druggy lyrics, the slightly psychedelic undertones. It's all pretty unmistakable. And even Future himself is contributing to keeping the market flooded with music that sounds like his music because it's him making his music. Because the man has actually already dropped two collaborative albums this year with producer Metro Boomin.

And now, after both of those records, we're getting a new mixtape, which is out of nowhere and unexpected and makes me wonder, what could a tape possibly contribute to the canon of music he's released already this year? Especially given one of those records helped set off the whole Kendrick/Drake beef domino effect.

Now, the fact that he is categorizing it as a mixtape could signify something, but the chances at this point right now in his career of him recapturing the old-school Southern hip hop vibes of the original Dirty Sprite tape or, I don't know, the explosive aggression of 2014's Monster tape, that's pretty low.

That version of Future just doesn't exist anymore. I think going into this mixtape, the best thing that we could hope for is a more casual version of what we have been hearing him do lately on either his 2022 record or one of the recently released Metro Boomin albums, which, to be frank, are already both pretty casual in terms of Future's approach to lyrics and songwriting. I mean, even when we go back to modern classics such as Dirty Sprite, too, rhat record as well has songs on it where Future more or less sounds like he's on autopilot, even if his hook writing during that era in his career was pretty good.

These days, however, it doesn't so much feel like Future is ultra focused on writing songs as much as he is crafting vibes. So as long as the beat locks you in and the flow gets your head nodding, that seems to be enough to pass the smell test. And that's about the bare minimum expectations that it seems we have throughout the 17 tracks on this tape, with many songs hitting around two-minute run time. But yeah, really, it's no surprise that on this project, it pretty much sounds like current day Future, but even more thrown together.

Which I think on some level could have been made up for a bit with some fire production choices, but even the beats on this thing aren't that impressive. It's like we're being subjected to a bunch of random tight beats built off of the most generic trap rhythm patterns imaginable and just like random stems. Some of the beats don't even really fit the bill for a Future album, I would say, like "South of France", which is totally a Drake-ass instrumental that doesn't even really complement future's energy. There's also "Surfing a Tsunami" which - why would he rap on this? It sounds like some terrible, moody, synthy, post-rock soundtrack piece that just comes across way too dramatic in tone.

And in fact, I would say throughout the second half of this tape, it really loses steam on multiple, multiple tracks. The song "Told My" is obviously unfinished. If he wasn't going to complete it, why would he even put it on this project? And "Made My Hoe Faint" should not have seen the light of day. Because if Future is known for anything, it's catchy flows, but it's hard to craft one of those when you can't even find the tempo of the beat.

There's a pretty unceremonious closer on the entire project too. The only song in the second half that I thought really stood out in a positive way had to be "Lost My Dog", which is a really interesting ode to a friend of his who passed away of a fentanyl overdose. Then from there, Future goes into bars about depression and addiction and relapsing, as well as losing loved ones to gang violence.

Now, to rewind on this project, the first leg, I think, starts things off a lot stronger, but I still feel like many of the tracks are only comparatively better. In the grander scheme of Future's catalog, I don't really see how any of these songs could go toe to toe with past classics. The opening track does have some interesting opera samples laced throughout, but when it comes to flows and refrains, it's not that standout of a song. "Lil Demon", I think, goes a bit harder and is maybe the best of the first several tracks on the tape, but even this song doesn't have that much of a structure to it.

And what refrains we do get, it feels like Future is throwing them out there just to see what sticks. Like the one where he says he's trapping, he's still trapping. We know. We're not surprised. Yeah, on Mixtape Pluto, I did not think this was going to be the one where Future turned a new leaf.

Next on the project, we have "Ski", which I think pretty much gives up the game in terms of what the core appeal of Future's music is at this point. And it's not really beats, it's not bars, it's not choruses, it's whether or not he can drum up another one of these crazy la-di-da, slob-on-my-knob moments. But whether or not it's actually hitting, I guess is up for the audience to decide.

"Ready to Cook Up" is a highlight because it's easily one of the most eerie and genuinely intoxicating tracks on the entire tape. But things quality-wise on Mixtape Pluto begin to drop off from here with a series tracks that by Future's usual standards, I think, are just more or less average.

"Plutoski" is pretty underwhelming and features, like, one of the dumbest vocal inflections on the entire project as Future repeats the word "Yeah" but every time he says it, he makes it sound like… [imitation here.]

"Too Fast" is an impassioned moment of clarity on the record where Future is giving a bit of a confessional about money he's been overspending on, either with himself or with women. There is a lot to this track lyrically. I just wish there was more to it musically.

Then "Ocean" is another moment of emotional clarity on the project, a diary of a drug dealer type track where he's going over a lot of traumatic and awful personal things that he's experienced in this context. I just wish the track had a proper chorus and ending to really frame out the perspective that Future is trying to paint here.

But yeah, outside of a couple of standout tracks. I'm really just at a loss with this tape. The beats range from average to just unfitting for Future's style. The flows, for the most part, are forgettable. The hooks, I mean, much of the time, what hooks? The content is pretty much what's to be expected in terms of the topics future is usually addressing. There are most definitely some moments of emotional intensity where Future is going into some introspective spots, but in no way is he at his most witty or funny or charismatic on Mixtape Pluto.

If there are any great tracks on it, they're really in the first several songs, which is why I'm feeling a strong three to a light for on this thing.

Anthony Fantano. Mixtape Pluto. Forever.