We Don’t Trust You- Future & Metro Boomin
Super late again. Whatever. Let’s talk about We Don’t Trust You by Future and Metro. This is pretty much a dream project for me in terms of a collab. They’ve made a lot of classics before and it’s been a while since we got a heavy dose of Future/Metro. So naturally my expectations were high. So let’s dive in….
This record finds Future and Metro at an interesting crossroads, both externally, in the landscape of trap, and internally, where they’re now beefing with Drake and trying to prove that they are the top dogs in their art form. In terms of larger themes, it’s hard to say there’s anything overlying the record as a whole, but this is fine. This is mostly a collection of trap bangers. I do think it’s probably got the highest highs of a lot of Future’s recent work. The bars are hard, the beats are strong, brilliant in some cases and the hooks on some of these songs are his best in a while. That being said, it’s a longer record than maybe it needs to be, and you can tell a few of these are older tracks. That’s not to say they’re bad. And for what it’s worth, there still is some effort put in to make sure this feels more like a record than just a playlist (looking at you Culture II.)
The opening track We Don’t Trust You is chilling and likely one of the best trap songs of the year. The Metro beat bangs and the sample is haunting, a perfect backdrop for Future to declare war. “Fake written all over you” he croons almost right off the bat, an interesting and pointed jab early on. It’s probably about Drake, but it could be about anyone and it gave me the rush of old Future, which was a little more aggressive and less solipsistic than his recent records.
Young Metro is a solid followup, with a simple but tuff beat. Simple synth swells and some backing bells and pads show Metro operating on a “less is more” philosophy, which he actually does a lot on this record. In the middle though, the track is disrupted by what is basically an interlude featuring the Weeknd harmonizing over an awesome synth break. It’s a good track, with a creative approach to the production that elevates the hard verses from Future.
Ice Attack is a two part track, with the first minute being a chill vibey track about having wayyyy too much ice, which then transitions to a much more aggressive second half. It’s another example of why Metro is such a great producer, using two pretty good beats to make a great song. The hook “Metro Booming he a millionaire…” is one of the best on this record. Future spends a lot of time flexing here, but he does sound pretty invested for what it’s worth. You can’t have too much ice on might have an ice attack…
There are probably 3 songs on here that are on another level and one of them is the next track Type Shit, featuring Travis Scott and Playboi Carti. The beat is one of Metro’s best, a collection of random bells clanging together. It’s menacing, organized cacophony. Future’s opening verse is a bar riddled romp,
As for the next track, Claustrophobia, there’s not a lot to say. It’s pretty boilerplate. It feels like a loosie from like 2014, The production cruises long and Future cruises along with it.
Should we really discuss Like That? Sure. It’s an awesome song. The sample, the synths…it’s hard. One of the best beats of the year, maybe even decade. Future’s verse is one of his best of the decade. And then Kendrick chooses violence. Hold on, my cat is staring at something in the distance with a look of doom in her eyes. | It was nothing.
“I’m just on some slime shit, I’m back on that slime stuff. I don’t care about this superstardom stuff.” Young Thug says at the start of Slimed In. Indeed he did and indeed he didn’t. Free Thug. This song is not very nice. Future says a lot of degrading things about women on this song, which really surprised me. “All my hoes they gang members” he says at one point, showing that he not only disrespects women, but also gang members.
Magic Don Juan (Princess Diana)-
As someone who is very passionate about Lady Di, I found this to be a very impressive tribute. Future goes in for like 2 straight minutes about being richer than god. There’s another section at the front of this section- the Magic Don Juan. It’s pretty solid, but Lady Di’s section is definitely more compelling, just like Lady Di herself.
Cinderalla with Travis Scott is a song that has been floating around for a while, since pre Utopia days at least. It’s simple, relatively catchy. A quality track, even if it’s not the most original on the record. It has a very solid hook that doesn’t really need much else to make the whole song work.
The next track Runnin Outta Time is a a great track. One of my favorites, which was funny because at first it could’ve been differently. It’s a great changeup track and is one of the better Future RnB joints. This is a Weeknd worthy hook and I’ve been hearing it in my head for about a week. Also it’s got the line “I’ve got your back like a spine.” Fair enough.
Fried (She A Vibe) is a decent little track that really sounds like 2014 Future, with it’s rap influences leaning a little bit back towards the mixtape era of trap.
Ain’t No Love is similar in some ways, featuring some classic Zaytoven keys and flutes, even some signature drums. It’s a pretty standard Zay beat and a pretty standard Future track but it’s still a great example of that classic Atlanta trap sound.
Everyday Hustle has Rick Ross, and like many Rick Ross features, it’s brings you into his world. The beat is classy, laid back and well made, built for bars and flexing. Rick Ross delivers a great verse, meeting Future for the handoff with gusto. You’re thinking that Metro is doing too much here…and then suddenly at the end Metro goes off, delivering two different drum switches for Future to cook on that bring a cohesive and fuller vision to the track.
Simple synth drones. Mean, angry, bad man bars. GTA I got shooters. Future absolutely crushes this track. It’s probably one of the best pure Future tracks on the record, featuring some of his strongest rapping and flowing on a track. I love this song.
Seen It All is another underrated cut from this record. A good mix of aggressive and pensive everywhere from bars to beat, this record feels like a classic Future retrospective. Metro doesn’t do anything god tier here, but he creates a brilliant soundscape for Future to brood over. “You talking about hip hop, I’m talking about drugs” Future offers up earnestly. He doesn’t care about shit. White girls and white girl, just some classic material here. It’s a short cut, but a good one.
Our final “official” track is WTFYM, which similar to the previous track, is a brooding, introspective bop. Here we find Future indignantly flexing his achievements to no one in particular, but it feels pointed regardless. It’s a decent closer, perhaps a fitting one from an album that was always above par, but doesn’t quite scrape the heavenly damnation of something like DS2.
Where My Twin @ is a short and sad bonus track that I strongly suspect is about Young Thug. It finds Future reflecting on his love for Lil Mexico despite it’s problems and also missing his “twin.” There’s a sense of sadness here. In a way, even Future knows that his whole “drug kingpin” game is over and his fame has left him holding a bag, alone and listless, with all his friends locked up or distanced. So he pours up a drink and thinks about the good old days, which he acknowledges may not have even been that great anyway.
I liked this record a lot. There’s an argument it’s not as consistent front to back as I Never Liked You, but it offers highs that record never really did. I felt it did a good job of marrying 2020s Future with the classic mid 2010s Future we all know and love. He’s not angry, he’s not even sad. But he’s wary, ready and aware. As for Metro, he was in his bag in a lot of ways, showing his role as both a star producer on tracks like Like That and We Don’t Trust You while also demonstrating a great ear for complementary beat making on other tracks like GTA, Ice Attack and Seen It All. There’s more to production than a unique ear catchy beat. Remember when Max Martin and Taylor Swift made that “trap beat” with like one synth line? Ego Clown does. Sometimes you just need some fitting synths and drums. This is why Metro is a producer more than a beatmaker.
So that’s it…Part 1 of a 3 Part review of all the new Future and Metro Boomin music that just came out. The next two should be out sooner, I promise.
