Every Friday, Rap Song of the Week rounds up all the new hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. Today, Future and Drake reunite on “WAIT FOR U.”
After one of the longer breaks of his career, Future returned today with the declarative I Never Liked You, which naturally features a pair of appearances from his good friend Drake. “I’M ON ONE” — the second song Drake’s guested on with that exact title — is one of their more typical collaborations about the trappings of success, making the vulnerable “WAIT FOR U” the more compelling of the two tracks.
It’s produced by Future’s frequent collaborator ATL Jacob, who sets the mood with a sample of “Higher” by rising Nigerian singer Tems. Stepping into his introspective Hendrix persona, Future raps about a woman who understands his lifestyle before getting real about how sometimes it takes sipping on codeine and taking pills to get him to open up. Clearly in his feelings, all the Atlanta native asks of her is to be honest: “Please tell a real one exactly what it is/ Don’t say it ’cause you know that’s what I wanna hear.”
Drake is in full navel-gazing mode on “WAIT FOR U,” once again playing the role of the toxic male. Unable to get over a relationship that didn’t work out, the Toronto native takes the route of blaming the woman. From Drake’s perspective, he gave it his all while she treated him like shit.
“Walk me off the plank because you know that I’m a swimmer,” he raps. “Supposed to be your dog, but you done put me in a kennel.” By the time the verse is over, however, Drake does show a moment of self-awareness, realizing that, maybe just maybe, he wasn’t the one.
Among Future and Drake’s more than two dozen collaborations, “WAIT FOR U” stands out alongside last year’s “N 2 Deep” as being one of the few tracks that goes deeper than being a celebratory anthem. For variety’s sake, here’s to hoping they explore more of this territory in the… future.
Later this year, Future will headline Rolling Loud Miami as well as the hip-hop festival’s inaugural Toronto edition. Pick up your passes at Ticketmaster.