By: Donovan McKelvey
After having a MONSTER year in 2015, releasing four critically acclaimed projects, Future is one of the top-tier artists in the hip-hop scene. Future continued his streak of high quality projects by releasing his first mixtape of the year with “Purple Reign.” Two weeks later, Future comes back with another album entitled “EVOL.” At first glance, you would think “EVOL” stands for “love” backwards, but the Atlanta rap superstar said that it stands for evolving, which is something Future continues to do with this project.
“EVOL” is one of Future’s more out-of-the-box releases to date. Although he uses the same producers as usual, the beats are not what you think Future’s typical sound would be. For most artists, this could be a red flag and hurt the artist if not done correctly, but Future is not one of those artists.
“EVOL” is entertaining and enjoyable all the way through. From beginning to end, Future shows why he has blown up the way he has. Future’s artistry shines brightest on tracks like “Maybach,” “Lie to Me,” “Xanny Family” and “Fly Sh*t Only,” but that does not mean the other tracks do not shine. For example, “Low Life” featuring The Weeknd is five minutes of both The Weeknd and Future “kickin flava” as Future would say, and is a radio smash right now. I’ve heard every song from “EVOL” on the radio within the first 24 hours of its release and I do not know any other artist who could do something like that.
With another solid project, Future continues to prove that he is here to stay and his reign at the top will not be ending any time soon.
3 1/2 out of 5 owls.
