(ThyBlackMan.com) The year of 2015, in terms of urban music and culture, could be reminisced in two ways; the endless quantities of dance songs and gimmicky radio hits that has the youth of today at attention, or the immaculate run of Nayvadius Wilburn, better known as Future, that made his transition of mix tape rapper- turned-failed-pop-star-turned-pop star without even making pop hits, one to be remembered. For a brief period, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “F**k Up Some Commas” or the Future-hive favorites such as “Gangland” or “2Pac” from the tape Monster late in 2014. “Real Sisters” and “Peacoat” are instant classics from Beast Mode. The entire tape of 56 Nights is still on repeat for some, while “Where Ya At,” “Rich Sex” and “Jumpman” is still in rotation from Spotify playlists to the radio circuit from his projects, DS2 and What A Time To Be Alive with Drake.
With that being stated, there is a consistent theme that has occurred with Future from the release of Monster to his releases in all of 2015; the music is great, but the volume and timing could be considered too much. Similar to a scoring run in basketball, eventually the output quality will come to an end. When Ape Sh*t evidently was scheduled to release on Thanksgiving Day, many questioned how could Future sustain his longevity in rap at this current pace. If he doesn’t release any more music for the rest of the year, it’s possible the move is a blessing in disguise.
Future’s run is reminiscent of the mix tape surge that put Lil Wayne in the company of rap’s elite in the pre-Tha Carter III era. His prolific raps came in bulk; his fans craved his flow and endless non-sequiturs and Wayne quickly became a critical darling in the midst of the ringtone rap era. Soon, the Dedication series (1 and 2) Da Drought 3, his Blow tape with Juelz Santana and his hundreds of leaked songs to unofficial mix tapes became fixtures on MP3 players and iPods across America (including mine.) Starting with the release of Tha Carter 2 and The Dedication, his output made 
him the hardest working rapper in hip hop. Unfortunately, this tactical approach of flooding listeners with music backfired. By Dedication 3, signs of wear-and-tear began to show. No Ceilings, released Halloween of 2009, is considered by many fans his last consistent effort, mix tape or album
In Lil Wayne’s case, boredom at the top could be debatable as to why his fall from grace was as immaculate as it was sad. Having an impressive catalog of music in his prime, Wayne should have been spread out the music for possibly ten years or more in hindsight. In his time, he benefited from the underground culture of mix tapes and leaks; where only those who were self-described musicologists of the Dat Piffs and Live Mixtapes of the world could get their copy and enjoy it. His fans took pride in the one-upmanship toward the casual music fan that didn’t have Lil Wayne’s endless supply of music. But because of how music is more transparent in today’s culture, the chances of burnout and fan boredom because of releasing music at a high frequency are now greater than ever.
Rappers see the strategy as “more music, more press, more opportunity,” but don’t perceive the writing on the wall that their maybe a point they are releasing music solely to the benefits of themselves. It’s why Gucci Mane, Chief Keef and Soulja Boy’s (In Soulja Boy’s case, he has to continue releasing music or he will be a caricature,) music isn’t considered to be where their past music were in their glory days; too much music, too soon.
But, if you questioned Wayne on whether or not he would rather re-live his glory years, or would he still want to be an elite rapper today, I’m certain he would say he wishes he was still the man of the hour. Everybody has their time, but Wayne’s run was so unique and breath-taking, it should have run longer. No way at the age of 27 his run should have ceased. This is why it’s important that Future take precautionary measures to his career. Output from an artist is always great (See: Frank Ocean, Andre 3000.) Consistent output in bulks from an artist is great, too, but the drawbacks of oversaturation are real and not a myth. If you don’t believe me, quiz a causal rap fan the last few projects Chief Keef, Gucci Mane or even Lil Wayne released.
Future for the rest of 2015 and in 2016 will now toe the line if he isn’t attentive. Because of the consistency in his output, a plethora of rappers are now beginning to release music at rapid but alarming rate; Migos have released 4 mix tapes (2 with Rich da Kid, one with Y.R.N the label and one with them as lead artists) on top of an album that was release in July (Yung Rich Nation.) Young Thug has released 3 mix tapes in 6 months, while Rich Homie Quan’s production has reached 3 mix tapes in 7 months. While the abundance of music is indeed, enchanting, it also brings about the risk of oversaturation. This in turn is possibly why the reception of What A Time To Be Alive were generally positive, but also lukewarm to some fans. Kanye West and Beyoncé understand tactical spacing of their music; this presents the opportunity to the listener to enjoy their fresh content knowing they won’t hear anything else for at least another year or more.
Perhaps, this is why Future and frequent collaborators Mike Will-Made-it and Zaytoven possibly won’t bless us with Ape Sh*t and Beast Mode 2. The risk of Future becoming too overbearing is imminent if he leaves matters to chance; though this decision could be difficult because of the excellent quality and consistency of his projects. Besides Drake, Future is the brightest star in music, and like an athlete winning the MVP, Future must find a way to return to his 2015 form in perhaps, 2016. BUT, if he does decide to take some time off, wouldn’t that hurt the potential excellence of the music since he’s already on a hot streak? Possibly, but the risk is worth taking.
Music Editor; Brad Washington
