Future Hndrxx Presents: The WIZRD

The lean guest list of trap all-stars Young Thug, Gunna and Travis Scott delivers solid if unspectacular support down the home stretch. Diehard Future fans, of which there are legion, will be satisfied. But at 20 tracks, The Wizrd runs overlong. Jewels like “F&N” (with its nifty beat switch), “Promise U That” and “Faceshot” run the risk of getting lost in all the streaming.

A 20-track album is a lot. But with The WIZRD, one can barely feel it because of the smooth flow from track to track. Even the few misses don’t disrupt the rhythm of the project.

On The WZRD, he spends most his time refining his formula or simply being lazy. Either way, it’s clear that Future is way too comfortable.

Though The Wizrd does run too long (as tends to be the norm nowadays), the bangers here are bangers and make this album exciting on every repeated listen. That being said, it is about time for Future to reveal the "man behind the curtain" and to move on from the excess materialism and misogyny.

The production is muted, minor-key, and consistently beautiful, conjuring the familiar Future Moods: rain-streaked neon signs, drug-induced stupors inside of clubs at 3 a.m. If you are content to live inside this lonely little world Future has made, he is still keeping it nice for you. What you won’t find on The WIZRD is the sound of Future stretching or surprising himself.

The Wizrd is the last album in Future’s current major-label deal, and it’s effective at reinforcing the qualities that turned him into a star, as well as outlining his rags-to-riches story one more time for those who weren’t paying attention.

He can croon and autotune his way through some songs that are easy to ride to while faking it though--he ATL Jacob laced “Rocket Ship,” the Jacob and Jambo co-produced “Stick to the Models,” and the mellow radio friendly “Tricks On Me” from Nineteen85. Future has plenty of swagger and personality, knows all the right producers to take his style and make it sparkle, and has little problem serving his fan base exactly what they want.

If Future had simply focused on these standouts, The Wizrd could be impeccable. However, given its runtime and filler moments, this remains yet another serviceable trap buffet that would benefit from some trimming to maximize impact and allure.

Where the project falls short is in the handful of filler tracks that pollute the listening experience, including the repetitive Temptation, F&N and Overdose. Yet it still counts as a victory for Future, who has now introduced The WIZRD to the world. It will be interesting to see what he does next with that persona.

The world of hip-hop and rap is changing and, while Future’s pattern works well, it becomes slightly repetitive with every listen.