Future and Metro Boomin just dropped We Still Don’t Trust You, and while the Drake disses are getting a lot of attention, the drama shouldn’t distract from the quality of the music, because this shit is great.
The duo take a relatively melodic approach on this one compared to last month’s rap-heavy We Don’t Trust You. Metro uses more soul samples and Future fully taps into his HNDRXX bag, complete with syrupy interludes and yearnful bridges. It hasn’t even been out for 24 hours, but there’s a lot to unpack here. From ASAP Rocky delivering one of his best verses in years to Metro Boomin proving why he should be considered one of the best producers alive right now, here are our biggest takeaways from We Still Don’t Trust You.
Future and Metro Boomin just dropped We Still Don’t Trust You, and while the Drake disses are getting a lot of attention, the drama shouldn’t distract from the quality of the music, because this shit is great.
The duo take a relatively melodic approach on this one compared to last month’s rap-heavy We Don’t Trust You. Metro uses more soul samples and Future fully taps into his HNDRXX bag, complete with syrupy interludes and yearnful bridges. It hasn’t even been out for 24 hours, but there’s a lot to unpack here. From ASAP Rocky delivering one of his best verses in years to Metro Boomin proving why he should be considered one of the best producers alive right now, here are our biggest takeaways from We Still Don’t Trust You.
Metro Boomin is one of the greatest producers breathing
Metro Boomin has been on a historic run since he dropped Savage Mode 2 with 21 Savage in 2020, and he just keeps leveling up. After We Don’t Trust You and “Like That” both went No. 1 thanks in large part to the ridiculous beats that Metro cooked up, We Still Don’t Trust You is extra impressive because he found new and creative ways to bring the best out of Future, like sampling The Isley Brothers’ soulful “Let’s Lay Together” on “All to Myself” or using jazzy horns on “Nights Like This.” The title track sounds like it’s straight out of Miami Vice with disco-inflected snares and keys, while songs like “Red Leather” sound like something you’d listen to with a star-crossed lover at an intimate speakeasy in Ludlow.
After the rap-heavy We Don’t Trust You, they both lean into more of an R&B bag here, but Metro still finds time to feed the rap heads, teeing up ASAP Rocky perfectly with the explosive beat on “Show of Hands” after setting Lil Baby up for a redemptive comeback verse on “All My Life.” We Still Don’t Trust You continues a legendary run that Metro’s been on for the past few years, and at this point, it’s become even more obvious that he needs to be mentioned among the all-time great hip-hop producers.
Melodic Future and rapping Future are evenly matched
After showing his range as a rapper on We Don’t Trust You, Future got back into his melodic mode on We Still Don’t Trust You. Everyone knows he’s a great rapper, but R&B HNDRXX Future is just as elite, which he reminds us of on songs like “This Sunday” (a reference track for Drake’s hit song “Feel No Ways”) and “Right 4 You,” where he interpolates Boys II Men’s iconic “End of the Road.” Most artists don’t have the skill to deliver standout rap verses and dutifully pay respects to R&B legends on the same album, but Future does so with ease. He sounds inspired here, and after dropping some lackluster solo albums over the last few years, We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You represent an energized return to form for Future.
It’s a little bloated
There aren’t a lot of misses on this album, but with a runtime of nearly one hour and 30 minutes, We Still Don’t Trust You would have benefitted from some trimming, especially after this duo already dropped a 17-song album less than a month ago. Some songs like “Gracious” and “Overload” feel a bit redundant back-to-back, and a track like “Red Leather” with J. Cole is good, but it’s a 7-minute record that was leaked over a year ago, so it doesn’t have much purpose here (outside of the headline-bait shock value of Cole’s appearance). The second disc is special, where Future switches back into his rap bag after focusing on melody, but it could have been added on as a deluxe version rather than being inserted at the end of an already long tracklist. Because of how good the music is, chugging through We Still Don’t Trust You doesn’t ever feel like a chore, but it could have been a little more concise.
More artists are coming after Drake
We Don’t Trust You lit a signal flare for any artist who had issues with Drake to step forward and air out their grievances, with ASAP Rocky and The Weeknd answering the call most eagerly.
Rocky and Drake have had a tumultuous history for the past few years, with Drake sending shots at him and Rihanna on “Fear of Heights,” and now it looks like Rocky has returned the favor on “Show of Hands.” Rapping “I smash before you birthed son, Flacko hit it first son,” Rocky seems to be insinuating that he was involved with Drake’s baby mother before the birth of Adonis, and he says that For All The Dogs “came and went,” among other things (read my full breakdown here).
The Weeknd also takes his shot at Drake on “All to Myself” in the complete opposite way of Rocky. Instead of trying to pulverize Drake with bars, he angelically croons through his verse as he talks about being thankful that he never “signed [his] life away” to OVO back in 2011, before implying that Drake’s “shooters” are “makin' TikToks,” which fans think are about the rapper’s former bodyguard Baka Not Nice.
It’s clearly open season for Drake right now, and Future and Metro have made their albums the perfect stage for anyone who needs to get some shit off their chest about him. Even the mere appearance of a rapper like J. Cole on a project like this is making headlines.
… But the album is deeper than the disses
The beef between Future, Metro, and Drake has been very entertaining, but it’s not the most meaningful or interesting thing about this album. Future gets very introspective about his life, crooning about how remorseful he is after missing his aunt’s funeral because he was high on “Came To The Party,” or taking accountability for his romantic faults on “Right 4 You.” The drama will always get the most attention, but the moments where he sounds like he’s painfully yearning for genuine human connection and recognizing that money can’t buy happiness shouldn’t get overshadowed by all of the disses. And tracks like “Show of Hands” and “All to Myself,” which do have shots from Rocky and The Weeknd, would still stand on their own as great songs, even without the drama.
ASAP Rocky delivered his best verse in years
Disses aside, let’s take a second to appreciate how Rocky is rapping out of his mind on “Show of Hands.” It’s been a long time since we’ve heard him rhyming like this—he took a more mellow route on Tyler, the Creator’s “Wharf Talk” and he didn’t tap into this naturally aggressive pocket on any of the dozen features he’s done over the past few years—but with a little help from a moshpit-friendly beat (and maybe some added motivation from Drake), Metro and Future brought out an energy from him that the streets have been missing. This is the version of ASAP Rocky that we need on his next album.