Future @ The Masquerade Atlanta 7/20/15

The line outside of the Masquerade in Atlanta had formed hours before anyone knew if they were even in the right place. However given the fact that people were waiting for tickets to a free show by favorite son, Future, the reward far outweighed the risk. When the location was finally revealed on Twitter, everyone in line was absolutely ecstatic. Why wouldn’t they be? Fate had just selected them as witnesses to the triumphant return of Future Hendrix to Atlanta.

This triumph came on the heels of what was a difficult year for Future. His 2014 album, “Honest” saw meager first week sales of 53,000 (despite being very good). In the months following this release, he also experienced the breakdown and dissolution of his personal and professional relationship with singer, Ciara. Almost as if in reaction to the increased public scrutiny on his personal life, Future released the mixtape “Monster”, co-hosted by Metro Boomin and DJ Esco. Fans & doubters alike were stunned by the cold ferocity Future showed on this tape. He followed “Monster” up with two more tapes, “Beast Mode” and “56 Nights” in early 2015. Listeners were shocked at the sheer quality contained in these three free mixtapes, which could have been albums for any other artist. People soon realized that Future wasn’t just any other artist. His fanbase swelled and grew as the buzz around these tapes spread through word of mouth and social media until, finally we had the #FutureHive. This massive influx of fans within a 10-month period inspired Future to declare his next project “DS2”, an official album. DS2, the sequel to Future’s breakthrough tape, “Dirty Sprite”, has been available for four days as I’m writing this and is already projected to have over three times as many sales as “Honest”.

No one can appreciate how far Future has come more than the people in his hometown of Atlanta. And Future certainly appreciates his city, making it the first stop over New York, Los Angeles & Chicago on his brief free tour to promote “DS2”. Once the doors to the Masquerade opened, the crowd rushed in to make sure they had the ideal vantage point from which to see the action. After the obligatory pre-show mix of popular rap songs, we were welcomed by The Coolest DJ in the World, himself, DJ Esco. Esco only needed to keep the crowd’s energy up for about ten minutes before Future finally took the stage. As soon as he walked on stage it was clear that he had a huge star presence. Even while surrounded by dozens of photographers and entourage members, Future draws your eyes to him. A lot of that stage presence seemed to come from the sheer joy he seemed to feel just to be there with his local fans. Everything he said between songs was filtered through an infectious grin a mile wide.

He wasted no time in giving the people what they wanted, launching into “Monster” while the whole crowd went insane. The first half of his setlist was largely derived from the three mixtapes that preceded DS2. He performed “Peacoat”, “Lay Up”, “March Madness”, “Just Like Bruddas”, “My Savages”, “Trap Niggas”, “Real Sisters” and “Fuck Up Some Commas” in pretty quick succession and it was apparent that the crowd had spent some time with these songs. Future rapped these songs as if they were decade old classics and you’d think they were based on the passion with which the audience echoed the lyrics. The second half of the setlist included a debut performance for pretty much every track on DS2. It was extremely apparent how much Future loves these songs and how proud he was that his fans had thoroughly learned them in less than a week. As the show drew to a close Future sincerely thanked everyone for being there and promised to return soon for another Atlanta date, at a bigger venue so that more people could attend.

One thing I found striking was the choice of “Shit” as the closing song. It was the only song Future performed that was any older than the “Monster”. Future’s catalog is so impressive that he feels comfortable excluding about four years of hit songs and can still come through with a setlist filled to the brim with classic hooks and hard-hitting raps. I also realized was how little “Shit” sounds like anything else released around “Honest”. The bitterness and ferocity of the song sets it up as the spiritual ancestor for Future’s last four releases. Their themes of nihilistic hedonism and destruction of both others and the self can be traced back to the pure disgust Future displays on “Shit”. This all indicates a sense that Future is breaking off his old romantic pop tendencies, most apparent on “Honest” and “Pluto”, and embracing the inner savage that helped him make these last few projects.

Before attending this release show for “DS2”, I heard a lot about the Pluto release show Future put on a few years ago also at the Masquerade. Future was still relatively green but the show was a who’s who of Atlanta rap royalty. At various times during the set he was joined on stage by the likes of T.I., Gucci Mane, Jeezy and Big Boi. While Atlanta rap celebrities could still be seen in attendance this time around (ask anyone on Masquerade security staff for their picture with Andre 3000), Future performed his entire set without any guests. In this way Future shows off his self-sufficiency. He is a product of a lot of what T.I., Gucci Mane & Jeezy brought to Atlanta’s rap scene and so he is able to form the bridge between these older heads and the likes of Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan and Migos who seem destined to carry the torch of Atlanta trap music into the future (pun so intended). So while people argue about who the king of New York is, in Atlanta Future has already been crowned King, and it’s apparent that the King has his sights set on the world.