Ranking Future's Mixtapes From Worst To Best

Releasing three mixtapes over the course of six months is no easy task; dropping three that are celebrated by critics and fans alike is almost unthinkable. Future made it look easy from October 2014 to March 2015, with the three-peat triumph of Monster, Beast Mode and 56 Nights paving the way for a veritable MVP season that was capped off by his best-selling album to date and a mixtape with Drake. But even before he had the attention of the entire rap-obsessed internet, Future made his name in the streets and strip clubs of Atlanta with free tapes. If his last year's seemed so effortless, it's only because he was getting back to the day-one skills that made Dirty Sprite, Astronaut Status and other early career highlights such cult favorites. Before DS2, mixtape-mode Future operated completely differently than album-mode Future, the latter of whom was more consumed by big-name collabs, a variety of styles and chart success. "Success" to mixtape Future just means feeding the streets and giving Esco some Magic City masterpieces.

Starting with 2010's 1000, Future's illustrious mixtape discography includes several with other rappers, including Gucci Mane on Free Bricks and his own Freeband Gang on FBG: The Movie & Black Woodstock. In the interest of this list, we're going to stick to tapes that have Future handling more than 50% of the vocals, so as not to water it down (also, those pale in comparison to most of his solo catalog). WATTBA is also out. Instead, we're ranking all of Future's nine solo tapes from worst to best, giving you a clearer picture of his career's atmosphere-penetrating peaks and its (still substantially above-sea-level) valleys. 

In the span of five tracks, Future's third mixtape blows all of his previous material out of the water, as far as hits are concerned. "Magic," "Ain't No Way Around It" and "Tony Montana" make for a three-song run that came to dominate the radio in Atlanta for months to come, but unfortunately, that's basically True Story's one and only claim to fame. By this point, Future had settled into a comfort zone and left the eclecticism of 1000 and Dirty Sprite behind, favoring booming trap beats and shouted, often nauseatingly repetitive hooks. Waka Flocka Flame's appearance on "Annoying" is no coincidence-- him and Future were occupying the same lane at this point, although representing its opposite poles of violence and melodicism. In contrast to the way Future's recent abandonment of pop aspirations has made for tighter, more focused music, True Story's narrow scope works against it, causing its 17 tracks to drag. The best moments come when the production varies from the standard horns-synths-bells-piano formula, and the worst have mind-numbing repetition to blame (like "One Minute," which also includes a final verse that can only be described as Ice JJ Fish-esque).

Best tracks: "Magic," "Tony Montana," "Smoke & Mirrors"

There are a lot of things about Future's debut tape that could be described as "goofy," from his facial expression on the cover, to the low-budget futuristic artwork itself, to the ringtone-rap holdovers that make up the majority of the tape's beats. But 1000 holds up as a solid first course because it's not afraid of defying the norm or jumping between styles. Future's clearly still trying to find his footing, which leads to some out-of-character moments like the Jeezy ripoff "Do It To Em," but more often than not, his auto-tuned delivery brings something new and exciting to the table. Opener "Life Of A G" shows how effortlessly he can switch between hard-nosed verses and T-Pain melodies on hook; "Yeah Yeah" puts him on par with Gucci Mane in his ability to make simplistic lines pop off the page with his schoolyard-style cadences. Future would later tackle much stranger beats and hone his sound into something much more focused, but 1000 was where he proved that he could take a passable batch of ATL street-rap beats and surpass his peers' best efforts. 

Best tracks: "So Cold," "Yeah Yeah," "Like Ohh"

Streetz Calling may only have one track ("Same Damn Time") that matched the success of True Story's three hits, and its problems also stem from stylistic stagnation, but it's certainly more consistent and less grating than its predecessor. The shouted, repetitive hooks persist, but they're backed by stronger beats that are able to keep things interesting on their own. Sonny Digital makes his debut here, and after knocking "Same Damn Time" out of the park, he effectively kills Lex Luger's career by doing his sound so much better on "Easter Pink." Rounded out by Zaytoven, Nard & B, Will-A-Fool and K.E. On The Track, Future's production stable was finally coming together. His writing also improved, staying focused on the tropes of money, women and trapping but conveying them in new ways. Your favorite rapper says he's got "money on his mind," but has he ever compared it to a brain tumor? Why stack bricks of drugs when you can "Pack the pounds up in that plastic, powder and petroleum"? Streetz Calling pushes at the boundaries of trap, jarring it ever closer to intergalactic pop, but it's not until Future's next tape that he really busts into wholly new territory.

Best tracks: "Same Damn Time," "Power Of That P," "Ball Forever"

The fact that Future chose to revisit the "Dirty Sprite" series four and a half years after the original dropped should alert you to how important the 2011 tape was for his career. Throwing its star on beats that ranged from weird as hell (the detuned, Mike Will-produced title track) to bright and radio-ready ("Splashin," "Racks," etc.), Dirty Sprite showed Future's versatility, and was most likely responsible for most of the guest spots he started racking up afterwards. He gained a cult following by letting his weirdo flag fly, introducing us to his "Future Hendrix" persona on "Never Been This High," a Zaytoven-produced gem that rides an impeccably wah-wah'd out swamp blues guitar line into the sunset. All of those little things that define Future's personality start to form here. "Much More" is the first of many Future tracks that's one part love song, one part ode to addiction. "On 2 Us" explains his eternal bond with DJ Esco. "Pajamas" has him lusting after a pop star he had yet to meet: "Pulled this bitch who look like Ciara." 1000 was the pilot episode; Dirty Sprite was where the plot points actually started forming.

The importance the tape played in Future's come-up often makes people forget its shortcomings, but there are plenty of those too. Generic tracks pop up all over the place, from "Bands'" Strip Club Anthems For Dummies vibe to the paint-by-numbers sound of "Conceited" (which also includes a pretty awful Cap 1 verse), making for a listening experience that's almost as uneven as 1000. These more streamlined tendencies of Future's music seemed to win out on the next two releases, and it wasn't until the next year that he found a way to let bangers sit comfortably beside cuts that crystallized his weirdness. 

Best tracks: "Dirty Sprite," 'Never Been This High," "Splashin," "Much More"

As indicated by its title, 2012's Astronaut Status is the first time it seemed like Future was striving for higher heights than his earthbound peers. With Pluto in his sights, he locked in on what has persisted to be his greatest strength: putting emotion behind every bar, no matter how unforgiving and/or conceited the words are. This added depth gave his music more of an immersive quality-- from here on out it's been more rewarding to listen to full Future projects alone on headphones than the singles on booming club speakers-- and this has just as much to do with his chemistry with the tape's producers. Astronaut Status has an atmosphere that seems tailored to Future's skills, in contrast to its predecessors, which had Future showing that he could do any existing ATL sound that he wanted. 

Best tracks: "Birds Take A Bath," "Deeper Than The Ocean," "Itchin'," "No Matter What"

Full disclosure: when Beast Mode came out, I thought it was the best thing Future had ever done and spent a month listening to it daily. Its catchiness is undeniable, and Zaytoven gives one of the best performances of his career, but it lacks the depth and replay value of the tapes that came directly before and after it. Constructed while Esco was still in a cell in Dubai (and, according to "Kno The Meaning," his hard drive full of Future's music was also out of reach), the short tape is noticeably disconnected from the overarching comeback story Future tells on Monster, 56 Nights and DS2, save for a few bars about Ciara on "Just Like Bruddas." Instead, it's almost like a scrimmage between big games, but even just saying that feels like a disservice to it. This thing is insanely listenable, and makes Future's often-troubled world sound like a carnival. It loses its step on the slower-paced numbers, but at just nine tracks in lengths, its consistency makes everything that came before it look bloated and scattered. If you're trying to get one of your friends into Future, start with this tape.

Best tracks: "Ooooh," "Just Like Bruddas," "Real Sisters"

Like Astronaut Status and Dirty Sprite before it, Monster marked a major turning point in Future's career. It was a regrouping moment after his breakup with Ciara and the somewhat underachieving Honest, and as a result, Future sounded both angrier and sadder than ever. Even the hit single has a hook about spending money that sounds violent, with Future selling us on the idea that fucking up some commas can never be a passive action. The tape's extremes-- such as the vicious title track and the boundlessly deep "Codeine Crazy"-- are its best moments, Future's passion coming through stronger than ever over beats by the cream of Atlanta's producer crop. The sonic vibe ranges from scorched-earth chaos to plaintive, psychedelic beauty, offering the stylistic range of Future's early tapes with much tighter sequencing and continuity thanks to executive producer Metro Boomin. To date, this still has some of Future's most ambitious work on it, and despite being less concise than the tapes that came before or after it, Monster is Future's most engrossingly out-of-control project.

Best tracks: "Fuck Up Some Commas," "Throw Away," "Hardly," "Codeine Crazy"

Inspired true events, released out of nowhere and declaring its own craziness on the final track, 56 Nights has already ascended into legend a few short months into its life. Future handles the mic with more confidence than ever, truly sounding like he's mastered the style he began honing years ago, and telling tales that lend him instant credibility. The dimly-lit drive home from Zaytoven's exuberant Beast Mode party, Southside's production is haunting, crisp and oddly hollow, allowing Future to fill all the negative space with his presence. Despite leaning heavily on one producer, it somehow comes off more diverse than DS2, offering somewhat of a journey over its short 31 minute runtime. Some may complain that there's nothing as booming or catchy as Future's early hits, but "March Madness" and "Trap Niggas" are the rare hits that take time to reveal all of their intricacies, with Future's shorthand manner of phrasing more enigmatic than ever. Self-mythologizing and cloaking yourself in mystery are difficult things to do these days, and in that regard, 56 Nights stands as the most compelling curio of the year.

Best tracks: "Diamonds From Africa," "March Madness," "Trap Niggas"