Future has been on an interview run these days, so there's no lack of promo for Honest. During his recent in-depth sit-down with Elliott Wilson we learned that Future is looking to drop the long-delayed and forgotten project Future Hendrix later in 2014, consisting of records that didn't make the cut for Honest. We also saw the rapper make his late-night show debut last night with an appearance on Arsenio Hall.
In yet another in-depth interview, Future sits down for NPR's Microphone Check podcast alongside Frannie Kelley and ATCQ’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The conversation broached many topics, some of which have been hashed out already in Future's recent spurt of interviews. Some of the more interesting tidbits included Future revealing that he doesn't like to do features despite being the go-to rapper for hooks, discussion of his freestyle recording process, and getting "Move That Dope" onto the radios.
Check out some excerpts from the interview below, via MissInfo. You can also listen or download the full forty minute podcast below.
On not going out of his way to do features:
All my mixtapes don’t have no features. I was doing good. “The Same Damn Time,” I was doing “Turn On the Lights” by myself, “Neva End” by myself, I was doing “Magic” by myself, “Tony Montana.” I did all those records and I start opening up with artists, “Let’s work together! Let’s work together!” Then as soon as you work with them, they send paperwork and managers and all that. Man, I’m not doing that anymore. If you want to come to my studio session, come through and let’s work. I’m not trying to go out my way to work with you and then at the end, it’s about the business and we falling out behind something that we shouldn’t even had a fallout about, man.
On his freestyle process:
Because sometimes a artist can go in there and just slap paint on the wall and you be like, “Man, that’s dope.” And they put a lot of colors in. Put your hands in and for your hands it’s moments that you can’t get back. You can’t put your handprint on that wall that same way again. You can’t recreate that moment again. So that’s why you go in the booth and try to get those takes that you can’t recreate, you know what I mean? The way you said, you can’t even say it again like that. If you try to do another take the same way, it wouldn’t come out the same way. I can’t mimic, or, I can’t get back what I just, what just came out my mouth. Like you were asking me this question, I’ll probably answer the question a different way every time you ask me. The best way you answer is the first time when you speak it.
On new music:
Man, probably 10 records, 10 albums. They don’t even understand. People don’t even understand how much music I have because I work on music every single day. If I get the chance to put another album out within three, four months, then I’m not gonna release a mixtape. I’m not gonna hold back my music again cause I did it for a whole year and the only reason I stayed relevant because of my features. I’m not gonna just hold my music for another year. I can’t. I’m not doing it. No more. I did it for Honest, that’s — I tried it that way. I record too much. I’m putting my music out every three months. I’m doing it. I’m dropping bombs.
On radio play:
Even with “Move That Dope,” it’s like, “Man, you got a record called ‘Move That Dope.’ How you gone get this on the radio?” Don’t think about that. Don’t start. “Man, we need a first single, Future. We need a first single. It can’t be ‘Move That Dope.’ You talking about dope.” Like, man, let the people judge that. We gone change the radio, from every song that I did, from “Racks on Racks,” “Same Damn Time,” “Love Song,” “Body Party” or “Bugatti,” we changed the radio — the tempo of radio. It can be up-tempo, we go slow. We go slow, we go up-tempo, like, you dictate your fans — you and your fans dictate the way the radio — let ‘em come to you.