When two larger than life artists come together to collaborate on a complete body of work, it is difficult to evaluate it with a clear head, focusing on the music rather than the full steam ahead hype train. It is fair to say that Drake and Future are two of the top figure heads in hip-hop right now, time and time again proving the monumental impact they have on the genre. The Internet erupted once rumors of a collaborative project between the rap juggernauts were confirmed, and What A Time To Be Alive became the most discussed album on social media instantly upon its release. Spur of the moment projects of this magnitude don’t come around too often, and the fact that the project was created in a matter of days only added to the excitement surrounding the collection. After some time to properly digest What A Time To Be Alive, the verdict reached is that while the project is stimulating and effectively showcases a sense of prominent high stature, the most remarkable attribute of WATTBA is the fact that it came into fruition in the first place.
The story behind What A Time To Be Alive proves to be an accurate representation of what the music eventually resulted in; a special series of studio sessions held on Future’s home turf with Drake playing the role of esteemed guest. With the highly revered Metro Boomin at the helm of the production on WATTBA, his commanding sonic atmosphere is present from beginning to end on the tape with tracks such as “Digital Dash” and “Big Rings” starting things off on an energetic note. Taking cues from Future’s recently released projects and Drake’s best-seller If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, the lyrical content is comfortably boisterous yet faithfully honest as each artist does a fine job of describing the varying aspects of their current way of life.
But while the plentiful selection of bangers on What A Time To Be Alive are satisfying, true chemistry between Future and Drake reaches a pinnacle for only a brief period of time on the project. If one were to point to the climax moment of WATTBA, “Diamonds Dancing” would be the record to press play on. The track is a nearly flawless display of each man’s talent and the enchanting aura birthed by the masterful production of Metro Boomin, Frank Dukes, and Allan Ritter provides the perfect platform to capture Future reflecting on his lifestyle and a vintage Drake digging into the soul of a certain female performance on the outro. What A Time To Be Alive stands out thanks to a number of memorable instances such as the potent flows of “Scholarships” and the fan-favorite, anthem banger “Jumpman”, yet at some points the listener can’t help but wonder if Future and Drake could have concocted more awe-inspiring blends of artistic styles if they had more time on their hands.
Hip-Hop is no stranger to the classic ‘what if these two artists put out an album’ scenario that so many fans have gossiped about over the years. With What A Time To Be Alive, Future and Drake leveraged their own power in order to fulfill a wish that many of us didn’t even know we had in the first place. Two of hip-hop’s biggest artists coming together and actually following through on a collaboration project is a rare occurrence, and WATTBA is an somewhat enjoyable result of fortunate timing and putting the right people all in the same room. While Drake takes the opportunity to provide folks with a life update on the introspective “30 for 30 Freestyle”, most of WATTBA consists of Drake adding extra flavor to the intoxicating universe of Future Hendrix. Over time, the pairing will prove to be more dominant conquering their own worlds as opposed to sharing one. And although What A Time To Be Alive will earn praise due to the artists involved as opposed to the intricacies of its musicality, it is understandable to get a thrill out of the project simply because of its existence. Although it has some imperfections, take WATTBA for what it’s worth and one day, we will reminisce on the fall of 2015 and smile at the fact that Future and Drake came together to make this happen.
Repeatable: “Diamonds Dancing”, “Jumpman”, “30 For 30”
Skippable: “Change Locations”, “Jersey”
Purchase: iTunes
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