Future [Double Play]

Honest hits stores this Tuesday (4.22) and I thought it would be fitting to do a Future Double Play. Future has released his collab with Andre 3000 and the video for his track with Kanye West. It wasn’t that hard to pick my favorite of the two being that he collaborated with two of my favorite rappers. There was just one song I was feeling more than the other.

First off the Andre 3000 track. It’s titled, ‘Benz Friendz (WHATCHTOLA)’. Interesting title for a song, very ATL. The vibe of the track is ok, I would’ve preferred a better beat, but as the song played on it grew on me. Not an instant love, but not a bad collab. Lyrically I was expecting more, but the song has really grown on me.

Listen to the track below:

Next up is his collab with Kanye. When I first heard about it I didn’t bother to listen. I don’t know why the visual made me change my mind, I guess I was just curious. I really like the vibe of this song. I had to do a double take in the beginning of the video when the girl was getting her Beyonce baby boy beach scene on. Future had a crisp cardigan on and Kanye kept it basic, but of course he couldn’t talk about winning without mentioning his soon-to-be wife, Kim K. How sweet of him to shout out his soon-to-be sisters as well. Really like this track although I have to listen closely to understand all of what Future was saying while he was rapping. Check out the video below:

 

Upcoming Albums — Future x Meek Mill x Kendrick Lamar

Future recently released the new artwork upcoming album titled, Honest, formerly titled Future Hendrix. In an interview with ELLE he talked about the new direction of the album:

I started going in another direction after I made the ‘Shit’ record. It just flipped the whole album. I got in a whole other mood when I went in the studio. I just started recording, recording, recording as much as possible. I just got in a great zone. I was able to capture the best moments. It helped me make a classic album. It’s just going to be very timeless.

The album and previous artwork were expected to be released 11.26.13, but has since been delayed. There’s no word on when the album, or track listing, will surface.

Meek Mill is up at bat for his sophomore album set to be titled, Dreams Worth More Than Money. The title coincides with his 2012 debut, Dreams and Nightmares. In an interview with Rap-Up he briefly discussed what fans could expect on the album:

You can expect just quality music. You know me, I’m a street rapper. I come with that street shit, so I’m just comin’ with that onanother level right now and takin’ them to a different place.

The album is set to drop sometime this summer. No official date just yet.

Following his Grammy and All-Star performances, Kendrick Lamar has announced that he has a new album in the works as well as a joint album with Black Hippy (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock). His yet to be titled album was set to be released sometime in September. In the recent Kendrick / Schoolboy Q Billboard cover story, this was written at the end of the article.

In 2014, TDE hopes to lock and load its most ambitious slate of releases: Rashad and the label’s first nonrap signing, New Jersey-based female singer-songwriter SZA, will be coming with albums, as will original team members Jay Rock and Ab-Soul. Meanwhile, Free thinks the long-awaited debut from Black Hippy – the supergroup featuring Lamar, Q, Rock and Ab-Soul – is likely to appear in 2014; Tiffith indicates that TDE is planning to release a new Lamar album this coming September, too.

Beyoncé Teams With Justin Timberlake & Miguel for ‘Rocket’

Mrs. Carter has posted the 5th and final installment to her Self-Titled documentary with the video, ‘Honest.’ In this 5 1/2 minute video, Beyonce talks about being confident and free enough to release the type of music she did along with writing ‘Rocket’ with Migeul and Justin Timberlake.

Now I’m in my 30s and those children that grew up listening to me have grown up and I always felt like it was my responsibility to be aware of kids and their parents and all these generations and I felt like it stifled me. I felt like, in a sense, I could not express everything. I’ve done so many things in my life, in my career, that at this point I feel like I’ve earned the right to be me and to and express any and every side of myself.

Read More for installments 1-4