In-Depth Review of HNDRXX

While Trap music is defined by its dark, bleak, and gritty lyrical content, Future deviates from this aspect of the genre to talk about personal things and matters of the body and soul in HNDRXX. He talks about subjects like greed, selfishness, his worldview, and how he views life. Since Future has never done an album like this, I felt like it deserved an in-depth review breaking down each song. Each songs peers into the life of Future and his mind.

“My Collection” 

Future sings about selling dope at his grandmother’s house, and the beat is calm and sets the tone for the rest of the album. It is soft and sensual. “Even if I hit once you’re part of my collection.” The song is about how Future thinks about all the women he has been with. The song makes me feel like having some mood lighting and some Hennessy.

“Comin Out Strong” ft. The Weeknd

Is kindness weak? Depends on who you ask, but Future seems to feel like people take him for granted. Kindness psychologically is considered a weak trait, but also is a desired trait by society. It is noble. Future struggles with this battle. He claims that even when people take advantage of him, he is still in power and control.

“Lookin Exotic” 

Rappers love mystic/exotic women. This is a common theme among modern rappers. Especially in Atlanta where many rappers get their starts playing demos in strip clubs. The song has a complex beat that meshes well with lyrics of the song. It elegant and the sounds of the song contrast in a way that works really well.

“Damage” 

The way Future trades vocals is unique. The aggression contrasting with this beautiful production is emotional. It is like a fight. The soft vocals contrasting Future give a very 90’s R&B feel almost. The song is about how Future has been damaged and fucked his life up. He blames drugs and choosing a terrible role model as a reason why he has screwed up and is damaged. He blames others for trying=ng to fuck his life up also. For a rapper who raps about his ego and lavish lifestyle all the time. This a vulnerable song. It speaks of frustration. It is a song about the things in life that have limited his success and damaged his life.

“Use Me” 

This is the sort of song that you wouldn’t expect from a trap rapper. It is emotional and an ode to his relationships. He hits all kinds of high and low notes and is mainly a singer than a rapper in this song. This a powerful song and is something that I would say few rappers can pull off. It has an original slow beat. There are no samples in this song. This song is very well put together and is very complex. It almost like a cry for attention or longing for a significant other. Like he wishes that a special someone would take advantage of him because he would do anything for them.

“Incredible” 

This song’s beat sounds like the open credits to a 70’s crime duo movie. It warm and tropical and reminds me of summer. It is very structured. The hook for this song really attached=s the raps to the beat. Because for the most part it almost seems separated from it like the beat is just background noise and not a part of the song. Future sings of his adamant of this one particular woman. Future says how he used not to trust these women until he met this one honest woman. At first, he was skeptical of her, but over time he found that the relationship they had was incredible.

“Testify” 

In the song, Future is the villain, and he’s messing with a good girl. Future wants the girl to show her love for him because times are rough and he needs her to be all the way in. The song's beat reminds me of old video games. Maybe this was on purpose as he’s playing “games” with this girl hoping that she opens up to him.

“Fresh Air” 

This song reminds me of like Wyclef Jean or R. Kelly. It is a slow song, and the hook screams like it could be a hit club song. It is got a fast to slow beat that changes up in interesting ways. This is new for Future. The beat is fresh and samples “God’s Work” by Cyrus. It is a fun song about having fresh starts or room to breathe. I think this is just a reflection about how much Future needs “me time.” As an introvert, I can relate to it. It is time to restart and become new again. It is time to relax and regain strength. This song could explain why Future has slowed down in releasing records. Parenting has also probably demanded that he slows down so he can spend time with his children.

“Neva Missa Lost” 

Future sings/raps about a relationship with a woman that he cares for, but he feels that he has been losing her lately. He senses that the relationship has been weakened by little disagreements and petty fights. He wants to reassure her throughout the song that he is here to stay for the long haul. He intends to work through these little bumps because he believes in the relationship. Relationships are fragile, and even the tiniest pecks can break them, and they need constraint reinforcement. The beat has an “if R. Kelly made a trap song” vibe to it.

“Keep Quiet” 

This song has a wild beginning. It fits the story of the song though. Future is having sex with a girl that is taken. He tells her to be quiet about because talking about it will only bring anger and chaos. Future doesn’t really care about having sex with girls that have boyfriends/husbands because he believes he is doing a service for them. He shows them a good time and provides and he thinks he fills that gap for these women not being appreciated enough. He just likes making them happy. The beat for this song sounds like an Owl City song with a trap bass and drums.

“Hallucinating” 

This song is short. It talks about Future’s extensive drug use and gives a little history of his drug use. It is an intoxicating song and sets a tone. It offers a view into how Future feels about drugs, and the beat is a reflection of how he feels on drugs.

“I Thank U” 

This is another short song and maybe on purpose. It is a song about all the women in Future’s life that motivated him through doubt and negativity. The guitar is something new and never seen before from the trap artist. It adds a moody blues vibe to the song. It is like a pity song to all the woman who didn’t believe in him. He has made it big he thanks them.

“New Illuminati” 

This song plays on the how society holds up the Illuminati as some secret evil organization that rules the world. This a simple song about how when Future is having sex with a particular woman he feels like their secret act is like ruling the world.

“Turn On Me”

The production on this song is incredible. The complexity of it and the horns that come with the hook. It gives the vibe of anticipation or expectations. It is believed that this song is about his ex-girlfriend Ciara. Makes sense because this album is about thing Future always wanted to talk about and stuff that is very personal to him.  He just went into the studio and opened up to make this album a complete opposite of its twin FUTURE.

“Selfish” (ft. Rihanna)

Rihanna and Future are back together. RiRi bringing the vocals. Rather powerful, but not overpowering. The Rihanna and Future duet works so well, and they complement each other so well. No wonder this song is a hit. Everything just jives and mixes well. The times of the transitions are just perfect, and the production fits the lyrics so well. It about two people who were awful to each other in their relationship but still lust after each other even though they aren’t together. This is probably why their relationship didn’t work out because they are selfish.

“Solo” 

Future doesn’t want to let someone down. These chords. This is one of those beats that sounds like it doesn’t have any foundation. Like Future’s vocals are just floating in space. There are a few risks taken on this album. He went out his way to do things that weren’t exactly in his comfort zone. “Solo” seems to be one of those experimental moments where the drug confidence gave him the boost to try and mix it up.

“Sorry” 

This a dark song. It is the finale. This is the closing of the song. It is the most personal and real of the songs. It is deep into the mind and life of Future. Future wraps up his heartfelt album with an apology letter to Ciara, elaborating on how his lifestyle affected the relationship, effectively bringing it to an end. Moreover, Future’s first connection to Ciara before their relationship took off was a remix of Ciara’s song “Sorry.” The beat sounds so sincere and almost pulls heart strings. This is a somber trap song and very emotionally rich one.

This is a project by Future worth listening to. Each song tells a story and tells you about the interworking’s of Future’s mind and thought on his actions, life, and morals. It gives access to how he feels about Ciara, women, drugs, and the lifestyle he leads. It is very personal and it is almost like he is telling you a life story or a confession. Its juicy. The production is amazing on this album and makes for some really nice and interesting trap beats that Future lays lyrics over. Each beat has a personality and helps tell the story of the song. They try to invoke the emotions that Future has towards the subject. The attention to detail in the production in amazing.

Future’s word play and lyrics pull heart strings. The way he delivers them either through rapping or singing help the listen understand Future and his thoughts and they work so well with the beats. The lyrics also provide for some interesting food for thought. They tell of feelings, thoughts, and stories. They make themes about humanity and living life. I think that’s what Future wanted out of this album. To be a summary of him on the inside. Not a summary of what is perceived of him like in FUTURE. This is one of the best made albums so far by Future and shows the maturity and growth of him as an artist and how far he has come from his beginnings.

This might be an album that forever enshrines Future as one of the greatest rappers of all-time. It is a complete album and the complexity of the lyrics and production is what makes it so great and great to listen to. A true masterpiece.

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HNDRXX is about humans and our relationships and the complexity of life and emotions. How our upbringing and influences mold who we are. It is about the gravity of our decisions and how they affect us and others.

REVISED Because the Internet Review

Donald Glover is an entertainment renaissance man. He moves from project to project and masters each one. He started as a writer for 30 Rock and acted as a cast member for Community in 2009. With Community coming to a close in 2013, he joined Atlanta. He hasn’t had much time for stand-up since 2011’s Weirdo. His rap career got started in 2008 after plugging his name into an online Wu-Tang Clan rap name generator and receiving “Childish Gambino” as a result.

Rap has taken him the longest to master, but Because the Internet was the turning point for him. Early Childish Gambino releases like 2008’s “Sick Boi” had a “don’t really know what I’m doing” feel to it. He has struggled with EP’s and mixtapes time after time and failed to become a good, legitimate rapper. Because the Internet came along, and he launched a campaign to promote it with a confessional series of Instagram posts about depression and fear, talk about mortality in interviews, an introductory featurette titled “Clapping for the Wrong Reasons,” an installation at the new Rough Trade NYC store, and a four-act screenplay that shares a title with the album.

The main character of Because the Internet is ”the Boy” who loves trolling celebrities online and hosting parties that only serve to amplify loneliness. The story tracks the Boy’s life spiral into being nothing. Gambino’s pre-release campaign was to tease the themes of the project out into the real world. The sequential song prompts in the screenplay reveal the album to be less of a stand-alone release than the full-fledged audio component to a daring multi-platform media project whose audio and literary wings collude to complement and even explain each other. “II. Worldstar” begins as a trap song and takes a hard left on a found-sound fight sequence before going into a jazz number all because of a club night gone wrong in the play’s first act. As the play begins have with purpose the album, it resolves to allow the screenplay to do the heavy lifting. The third and final acts of the album are shifts of action that they’re meant to soundtrack. and These songs make a series of songs that are meant to advance the plot of the screenplay. Songs like “The Party” and “No Exit” followed by sad songs like “I. Flight of the Navigator” and “II. Zealots of Stockholm (Free Information).” These songs work well for the screenplay, but not so well for the album. The whole album, promotional campaign, and screenplay are a multi-platform experience that are curated like an art exhibition. The whole act by Childish Gambino is a reflection of the Internet Culture and how people can become famous through social media, YouTube videos, and internet music platforms.

This album is where it seems like he finally found his style and worked out his rap kinks. Gambino’s improved lyrical ability opened the way for guest artists to not overshadow him and instead just provide hooks. Chance the Rapper, Azealia Banks, Problem, Mystikal, Lloyd, Miguel, and Jhené Aiko all make subtle appearances that help complete the songs they appeared in with only Jhené Aiko being the only one to provide a verse. Childish Gambino’s raps are amazing in this album. There could be improvement in wordplay, but the man made some remarkable songs. They are complex, fun, and creative. The album has punchlines, puns, cultural references, and is sprinkled with odd lines like “In the garage/ I had a menage/ I murdered the vag,” “I got no patience, cause I’m not a doctor/ Girl, why are you lyin’? Girl, why you Mufasa?,”and “Yeah, you got some silverware, but really, are you eating, though?” These lines are clever and witty and there are tons of other examples throughout the album. Gambino plays with words through the album and the endurance of it all is one of the strengths of the album.

Donald Glover and Göransson are the main producers with Stefan Ponce, Christian Rich, and Thundercat providing a few beats to supplement the album. Because the Internet’s production team made beats that are pretty, out of this world, and wild at the right times and places to make unique songs. They also effortlessly nail beats that create a story alongside the screen play, but also make for a great album. The transitions in songs from soundbites to Gambino rapping or singing are genius.

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The album is a masterpiece created to tell a story of society and the way Gambino sees the world. His Atlanta upbringing and Hollywood lifestyle have both influenced him. Songs like “Worldstar” reflect the culture of Atlanta while songs like “Worst Guys” have more of a West Coast influence. As Childish Gambino was learning different styles of raps from Lil Wayne, Drake, Future, and other star studded rappers, he grabbed something from each of those rappers to make his own style and music. The culture of the Internet and rapid communication made a comedic and TV show star into a legit rapper. It took years for him to master the craft and learn the culture of it. He studied other rappers and went through some weird life phases to try and become a rapper. The creation of this album and Childish Gambino are because of the Internet and one man’s dedication to succeed at this form of entertainment. Because the Internet exists because of the Internet and the culture our country lives in today. It is a reflection of modern rap culture and the rap music industry. It combines movies, social media, and music. Three things that define the culture of many regional areas and the culture of America.

Script of the screenplay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7fe7ljMOHssZkJPaWNGSWp1ZjQ/view