To his credit, Future foregrounds a sample of Nigerian singer Tems’ “Higher” on a key collaboration with Drake, “Wait for U.” The campaign looked like a self-own for a rap industry resistant to promoting anyone other than hetero men, whether it’s the homophobic backlash against gay performers like Lil Nas X, the clownish undermining of talented women like Megan Thee Stallion, or even the frequent absence of female vocalists on highly anticipated rap albums and industry-generated “GOAT” lists. They just don’t want to admit it.” That latter quote – a response to controversy over his troubling behavior towards his ex-lovers – enthralled the Future Hive, which gleefully anticipated the cascade of “toxic masculinity” that his new album, I Never Liked You, would bring.
“People have their own definition of what toxic is,” Future told veteran journalist Elliott Wilson in a widely circulated GQ cover story that boldly proclaimed the 38-year-old Atlanta artist as “The Best Rapper Alive.” “ all were toxic to me.
