High Off Life / Future / May 15, 2020
- Joshua Yoo
- May 18, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 13, 2020
As the title of the album indicates, Future’s eighth studio album “High Off Life” serves as yet another look into Future’s lavish and luxurious lifestyle. But there’s a slightly different, more weighty tone to the album, not just in the sound of the production, but also in the themes, and it cuts through his relatively generic trap sound effectively. The production throughout the album is never outside of Future’s wheelhouse, and yet surprisingly the quality and intricacy of many of the instrumentals are fairly high, notably having a lot more energy and unique instrumentation (“Harlem Shake”). The vocal performances are typically reliable from Future, with a few moments where his singing or odd vocal inflections add an interesting texture to the beats (“Solitaires”). Thematically, it’s refreshing to see Future open up more emotionally than usual, being more introspective and reflective about his unstable past and his personal flaws. Future is unafraid in staying true to his character, and it subsequently reflects onto certain tracks that are not only more serious in tone, but more relatable to his listeners (“Posted with Demons”). However, like many of his contemporaries, Future can’t entirely avoid his derivative tendencies in the progression of the album. With an unnecessarily long runtime of 70 minutes and 21 tracks, he as an artist cannot sustain enough musical diversity to last, thus leading to moments of tedious songwriting. “High Off Life” is proof that Future is still very much a potent force in the industry, proving his solo artistry on a project that, although has its flaws, showcases high-grade production and delivery for modern trap standards.
Best Track(s): Ridin Strikers, Too Comfortable, All Bad Lowlight(s): One of My, Outer Space Bih
SCORE: 6/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-FXhhpQjaI&t=2s
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