In many ways, Honest has parallels with YG's My Krazy Life, an album I quite enjoyed even if my review didn't fully indicate. Just like YG, the general consensus on Future's album was that the shit was actually pretty good (apparently his debut was met with a similar reaction), which was unexpected, at least in my expectations. Secondly, and probably more importantly, is the albums production. DJ Mustard was the mastermind (I'm only halfway kidding) responsible for most of YG's album and the dude runs the radio this year, but the same could be said about Mike Will Made It last year, and he's responsible for three tracks on Honest. I've been particularity interested in hearing his response after being dethroned of the top spot on the producer popularity chart. Will he switch it up or keep up the same tricks in the hope that Mustard becomes a born again Christian and steps away from the rap game? The latter seems unlikely (although not impossible; lets not forget that Terminator X left one of the most popular groups ever in favor of running an Alpaca farm), so Honest should be an interesting look into his future.
Although it's be nearly impossible to tell based on my previous writing, I've always kinda liked Future. Kinda. My introduction was a rough one after coming across his minor hit "Tony Montana", but regardless of your opinion on the mans music, you can't really deny that Future has created his own lane. Of course there's countless imitators running wild throughout the Atlanta music scene, and his flow has shared the mic with many of today's most prevalent artists, but there's still no one that sounds anywhere fucking close to Nayvadius in terms of actual music. That's something I admire.
Honest carries the weight of heavy expectations build off of several delays and previously mentioned comments from our host. Future will always be able to make money in rap, as he's already established himself as a go-to hook man for many mainstream artist, but in some ways, this album is make it or break it if he envisions himself as being a mega solo star. It comes at an opportune time, with a new generation of hip hop slow but surely overtaking our beloved legends, and Future obviously has the backing and resources to put himself at the forefront of that new wave.
But what says myself?
1. Look Ahead
Although I expected that this track would eventually be metaphorically thrown into a pile of other useless rap album intros that fail to set the overall tone or raise the listener's expectations, this is really good. I guess I was expecting an attempted banger, but the warm, full-bodied guitar loop puts Future on production I never thought I'd hear him on. He's rapping with a sense of urgency, and appropriately declares his intentions with epicness. It also helps if you don't pay attention to a word the man says. Yeah, lyrics still aren't Future's strong suit, but hey, this was still pretty good.
2. T-Shirt
Another instance where you're going to have a hard time giving much of a fuck about what Future has to say. I mean, I like T-Shirts too and they're an obvious necessity in life, but if I had his money, I'd try to find something a little more interesting to boast about. You wouldn't have a clue as to what the subject was if you only listened to Future's voice, though. The completely over the top emotion he brings on here makes it seem as though he's crooning about the most important thing in the world. I guess that's a complement. I sure as hell can't think of another artist that could convince me that I care about his shirts based off vocal tone alone. Nard and B's instrumental is more than passable as well.
3. Move That Dope (Feat. Pusha T, Pharrell, & Casino)
Here's the song that originally gave me high expectations for this album. Just as I had hoped, Mike Will Made It has switched it up big time, as his menacing synths morph the sounds of El-P (never thought I would say that) and mid-2000s Clipse records. And speaking of Clipse, its appropriate that Pharrell, fresh off one of the most successful and family friendly years in recent memory, makes his rapping return. Its pretty fucking awesome too, so that was relieving. The other features deliver decent performances as well, even though Pusha T slightly disappointed me. I don't want to say that Future's verse was the worst, but it was definitely the least memorable, but it doesn't hurt the overall quality of the song. It's also worth noting that the hook sounds like the least effective employee meeting ever. Perhaps a better manager would tell their employees how to move that dope. Just saying.
4. My Momma (Feat. Wiz Khalifa)
I'm sorry, but I just can't take this seriously. Hip hop will never be confused with the grammar Olympics and I'd lose my mind if I cared about this shit, but "My momma ain't raise no hoe"? Granted its hard to even tell what's being said over Future's yelping, but c'mon guys, that's just lazy writing. Anyways, this is the first real ignorant banger on the album and Mike Will Made It is backs to his old ways on his second contribution. Not necessarily a terrible thing, considering its what made him a star in the first place, but the lack of ambition is disgruntling. This isn't disgustingly bad or anything, but if we're keeping it all the way 100, I can't imagine myself ever playing this again. I sorta liked Wiz, though.
5. Honest
At first, you would think that the title tracks seems to be the moment signaling that there will be a more low tempo vibe with Future easing into a love song. You'd only be halfway right, though, as there's an obvious change in tone, but Future seems content on bringing back the exact same topics from the previous four tracks. Apparently you're allowed to be as big a dick as you want as long as you're being honest. Not the most flawless logic I've ever heard, but I guess I shouldn't be expecting much else. I mean, this is Future. He did say that this album would feature no love songs (he lied), so he's kept his word thus far, but maybe a little variety would help engage my interest.
6. I Won (Feat. Kanye West)
Okay, here's the love song. Future finally slows things down to profess his love for his fiancé Ciara. I've gotta say, though, this might be the least endearing topic I've heard in all my time running this site. Not saying its wrong for these two to be proud of their partners, but the objectification of women on here is way too over the top to ever be considered sweet. But it's all okay, since they're being honest. Anyways, I will say that Future appears incredibly sincere in comparison to Kanye's fucking ridiculous verse (I keep telling myself I'm excited for his new album, but he's shown me no proof that it will be any good), which is backed with extra Serious Piano to add just a little more pretension. The title song isn't trash or anything, as it's impressively melodic and Future's singing his ass off, but in terms of actually making a personal connection, this was a pretty big misfire.
7. Never Satisfied (Feat. Drake)
Because what would a major label album be without a Drake feature. Thankfully, I can hardly even remember a thing about his contribution, and that's not really a shot at Aubrey, but a compliment to Future's ability to make this song his own. So for all of you keeping track, mark this one up as another example of the main artist avoiding getting Renegaded. I'm actually really impressed that Future's been able to completely hold onto his artistic integrity on every one of these songs so far. Too bad this song isn't all that great in the first place. It doesn't stay around long enough to make an impact and Mike Will Made It bows out with an alarmingly bland final instrumental. Meh.
8. I Be U
After a process of trial and error, Future nails the sentimental love song approach that's he's been trying to make throughout his career. Over robotic sums and whirs from producer Detail, Future actually doesn't sing about love (I should probably retract my statement about him lying, as there hasn't really been a full out love song yet). He details the physical loss of yourself where you lose all sense of where you end and the other person begins. Every moment feels more important than the moment before it. Its a shockingly beautiful song about seeing yourself in the person you love. I'm somewhat impressed.
9. Covered N Money
A complete change of tone in comparison to the previous four songs. It not the smoothest transition I've heard, but it probably works out for the best, as Future would have a hard time following up the last song with another serious cut. Besides the somewhat catchy hook and Future's general vocals, nothing he does on here's is all that impressive, but the beat makes it a welcome addition to the album. Sometimes ignorant yelling is all you need to be interesting (that's terrible of me to say and I hope aspiring rappers don't see that, but its true in this case), especially when paired with the expert use of the drum machine.
10. Special (Feat. Young Scooter)
Fuck this song.
11. Benz Friendz (Whatchutola) (Feat. André 3000)
Alright, this is more like it. Mr. DJ's work behind the boards on "Benz Friendz" marks one of the finest beats on Honesty. It successfully renders the "bummed out, all this shit sucks" tone into audio form, making every bar sound both condescending and triumphant. And in case you didn't notice, this is a meeting between Future's Dungeon Family precursor André 3000. No one will ever use this as an example of 3 Stacks' lyrical expertise, but his presence is nonetheless welcome, making this into more of a duet than a traditional hip hop song. This shit was nice.
12. Blood, Sweat, Tears
Honest ends with a Boi-1da production that ends the night on a disappointing note. This is the type of shit that reminds me why almost no one likes this guy. Future displays mistrust and paranoia, while explaining how he leaves his soul on the floor of the studio every time he steps in. Even through the levels of auto-tune, Future's voice still can't manage to sound even halfway endearing. It's cheesy as hell and makes for a damn near laughably bad attempt at creating a heartfelt closer.
Rating: 3/5
I sincerely apologize to anyone expecting another one of my classic rants, but this album isn't bad. Honest is simply another example of why I consider 808s & Heartbreak and The Love Below to be two of the most influential albums of the last twenty years, even though nothing on here approaches the mythical "perfect" pop song as well as André's "Hey Ya!". Its hard for me to consider this a complete hip hop album, as Future actually does a really impressive job of meshing genres and there's probably more singing on here than rapping, but that's just another reason for me to care about the mans career. Its tough to categorize his music. In the time between Pluto (yeah, I went back and listened to it mid-review) and now, Future has developed a much greater sense on how to use his voice. Atlanta produces countless artists that come and go and I'd be lying if I said I expected Future to be any different. Instead, Honest surges with the self-assurance of an artist coming into his own. His bangers are razor sharp, the ballads are occasionally brilliant, and Future's seemingly effortless ability to do both are what make the album work. Honest isn't the perfect album, but hey, it could have been worse.