Future on Releasing Free Mixtapes: "I Was in a Show and Prove Situation"
Complex just premiered part two of Future’s Like I Never Left documentary, where he has another revealing sit-down with Rap Radar's Elliott Wilson about the success of “Commas,” releasing free music and more.
The five-minute clip finds Future and Wilson visiting Noah “40” Shebib’s studio in Toronto for a session. Over lunch, the Atlanta rapper and the veteran journalist discuss the motivation being “Commas,” a single that has been a big hit for him this year. “No matter you rich or you poor, when you heard this song, you gonna say ‘f**k up some commas,’” he describes later on that the record is all about evoking emotion.
Future also breaks down the years he’s been in the game, pointing out his consistent track record of songs on the radio and selling out shows. Rather than give his fans a half-hearted project, he believes in giving them a full body of work—regardless if it was free or for sale. After the success of “Commas,” we got his Monster mixtape, followed by his other tapes Beast Mode and 56 Nights.
“It was needed. It was pretty much needed,” he tells Wilson. “I was in show and prove situation.”
He says shortly after that given his mixtape discography, he knew that feeding his fanbase with free mixtapes would pay off into the substanial hype we're seeing this week before the release of Dirty Sprite 2 on July 17.
“Each tape you get a different feeling. Like, I know music. I studied the game. I’m not telling you this s**t, I’m showing you this s**t. I just dropped Monster, Beast Mode and 56 Nights, and they got no features. And y’all love this s**t. Like, I’m showing you this s**t, I ain’t telling you this s**t. It ain’t up for debate. I left zero room for debate.”
You can watch the full video over at Complex.
(photo: Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment
