WE DON’T TRUST YOU

Those who’ve been following Metro Boomin’s career from the beginning have probably heard his signature drop a hundred or so times: “If Young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gon’ shoot you,” warbled by Future himself. There’s something mysteriously catchy about the tagline, which the producer has appended to handfuls of hits over the years. So it’s a fitting title for the first full-length project between Metro and Future, whose previous collaborations make for some of the most essential tracks in the Atlanta rapper’s canon, from early heaters “Karate Chop” and “Honest” to 2017’s mega-viral “Mask Off”. (The latter hit marked the last time the two collaborated; if that hiatus seems painfully lengthy, they’re currently making up for it, having teased a second joint album to follow later this year.) Future and Metro might not trust you, but they clearly have faith in each other—11 years after “Maison Margiela”, the duo’s chemistry remains strong, enabling each other’s more experimental whims. That means in addition to classic Future Hendrix heartbreak ballads like “Runnin Outta Time” and classic Super Future hedonist anthems a la “Fried (She a Vibe)”, you get curveballs like the ominous Cash Money-circa-1998 mood of “Like That” (which borrows shrewdly from Rodney O and Joe Cooley’s “Everlasting Bass”), with an uncredited Kendrick Lamar verse that takes no prisoners—Drake and J. Cole included. Or “Everyday Hustle”, whose warm soul sample coaxes a rare appearance from the super smooth Future Mayfield, as well as a cameo appearance from Rick Ross. Well into their respective veteran years, the two still sound like they’re having fun—especially on closing track “Where My Twin @”, which introduces an instant classic Future bar into the lexicon: “In the courtroom/I’m on mushrooms.”