Metro Boomin’ ft. Future’s We Don’t Trust You: Fame’s Dark Side

Metro Boomin’ has been busy since the Spider Man Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack. They have been busy putting out a record with Future and crushing Drake in the diss-off with Kendrick…Boomin’ brought the heat with BBL Drizzy, with was a Nas Ether type move the spelled the beginning of the end for Drake. So, diss tracks aside, what is the new record with Future like? The record’s vibe is best summed up in the dark, highly cynical and ultra weed infused We Don’t Trust You.

There is a theory out there the the music of the time reflects the drugs popular for the time. Tripped out Grateful Dead and acid, overbright 80s pop and cocaine, 90s EDM and ecstasy, Pusha-T’s staccato with cocaine and now slowed down rap with high autotune and weed. If this theory is true, We Don’t Trust You is bathing in weed and purple drank. The beat is slowed down to an inch of its life to where is is just barely hip hop. The key is a slowed down sample of Smiling Faces Sometimes by the Undisputed Truth, which really sets the track’s tone. It’s the vibe that Jordan Peels got when he slowed down Destiny Child’s Say My Name for The Candyman trailer, which is a darkness that gets your attention. It is that sense of something happy and familiar that is twisted and distorted. This plays well into the themes of the track as Future and Boomin’ explore the dark side of fame.

The track itself is about how you can never trust people, because they are always looking for a way to use you. Not the most uplifting message and you could argue that Metro and Future need a hug, but as a theme it’s effective. Future talks about how people will praise him to his face to only turn on him when it suits them. There is far more of an emotional edge to this track than the rest of the record, which leads me to believe that this theme of betrayal is something personal. THe track is more than just being betrayed by “fake fans,” because who cares about them? Being betrayed by a “fake friend” wouldn’t hurt enough to warrant an opening track on a record. This is something personal from someone he loved…this hurt…which is probably why it’s the best track on the record.

The issue with this style of “mumble rap” with sedated beats and high autotune is that there is not enough to keep the listener interested. It might work well when you are high or looking for a vibe, but on its own these songs don’t stack up to something from Kendrick, or Pusha T or Black Thought. For me, a majority of the record falls into this trap; however, We Don’t Trust You stands out from the pack due to its emotional core. The key to this track over other mumble rap is that it has something to say with emotion behind it. No matter what genre, music is about expressing emotions and We Don’t Trust You is no different.

Listen to We Don’t Trust You