Album Review: Pluto by Future

Future's name is a bit of a misnomer. His guests are not-so-futuristic 90s standbys R. Kelly and Snoop Dogg, and he still likes the sound of Auto-Tune, so he's not exactly George Jetson. But Pluto nicely refreshes current rap trends and offers some genuinely forward-thinking hooks.. Yes, Future ….

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Rap has its eccentrics, and it has its pop stars, but as the genre has been pushed further and further out of the mainstream, it seems to have little room for artists that split the difference. Never has the phenomenon been more clear than on Nicki Minaj's Roman Reloaded, one of the most anticipated albums of the year from the genre's premier eccentric, but one that has such a clear delineation between out-there rap and bloodless pop conformity that it might as well ask you for your passport halfway through. Atlanta rapper/singer Future, a Dungeon Family blood relative who'd be as at home on "The Voice" as Cee-Lo, has made it his aim to bridge that gap, and with Pluto, his debut album, he makes his strongest case yet that he is one of the foremost sources of rap that's as peculiar as it is pop.

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Owner of a handful of radio hits and the principal dynamo behind the burgeoning “space” microgenre that splits the difference between ringtone pop-rap and post-crunk shout-rap, Atlanta rapper Future is primed to own the summer of 2012. Future is nobody’s idea of a great rapper, but he has a knack for making hits, mellifluously switching from rhyming to crooning in an autotuned drawl that seems a savvy reduction of Weezy’s star-turn on the hook of “Duffle Bag Boy. ” He further benefits from an alliance with some of the hottest producers working right now, like Mike Will and Nard & B, who create glistening soundscapes that would work perfectly at Epcot center or the Light Tunnel at the Detroit Airport.

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An Atlanta rapper with ties to OutKast, Future is a true ATLien, mumbling his way through infectious hooks and frequently drenching his vocals in Auto-Tune, not to correct the pitch but to further muddle and murk his delivery. It was the perfect complement for YC's snarky vocals on his hit "Racks," and it made for an excellent centerpiece for "Tony Montana," Future's own mixtape hit that, landing on his official debut here, still sounds like a draggy and dark David Banner cut made with both the syrup sippers and the goth kids in mind. In other words, the man is either "niche" or "limited" depending on your viewpoint, but this scattershot yet uniquely attractive debut does an excellent job of swaying listeners toward "niche" by keeping the guest list purposeful and the production varied.

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Future :: PlutoA1/Free Bandz/Epic RecordsAuthor: Steve 'Flash' JuonOne thing can be said for certain about "Pluto" - it's the most anticipated album coming out on April 17th, 2012. It's conceivable that it's the most anticipated hip-hop album for the whole month of April. And given that the release date was postponed for several months, I'll even concede that "Pluto" is among the most anticipated records of the year so far.

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Hip Hop has had its fair share of novelty acts, and Future appears to be the latest flavor to emerge into the public eye. Born and bred in Decatur, Georgia, the rapper has developed a penchant for transparent lyricism, and his debut album Pluto carries out this theme. While Auto-Tune is heard all over the Drake-assisted single “Tony Montana,” it isn’t necessarily a crutch for Future, with use of the voice modifying application primarily assigned for hook purposes.

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In the past year, 2012 XXL Freshman Future has used addictively simple hooks and a syrupy flow to become one of the hottest MCs in the game. With Pluto, the Atlanta native proved himself worthy of the buzz by crafting what may become one the best commercial debuts of the year. When he sticks to the formula that made songs like “Magic” and “Tony Montana” into smash hits, Future is one of the most exciting artists around.

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