Mask Off

Making history and breaking records on the Billboard charts, Future takes the front display of the latest issue of Billboard. Read the cover story here.

Last summer, when Future began ­recording the tracks for the new albums, all he knew was that he wanted to put out two. The idea of staggering the release by a week came later — mostly, he says, to give fans a chance to digest Future before diving into HNDRXX, which is the disc that’s closer to his heart. He sees Future as a look back at where he’s from and the music he has made. It’s 100 percent him — no features — and thick with street-oriented jams. The single “Draco” (the title refers to a very portable AK-47 pistol) pairs a sugar-rush melody with a gleefully ­nihilistic hook: “Draco ­season with the book bag/Rat-tat, got a little ­kickback … You ain’t never ever get your bitch back.” It’s a good example of Future’s weird alchemy: “Draco and the book bag, that’s from real life,” he says. “But being able to take that and make it where it’s not so ­violent? It can connect to more people. You don’t own a Draco, and you like it, right?” (For the record: both true.)

Future says he wouldn’t mind if ­people thought of HNDRXX as being by a totally separate artist. It reflects the ­preoccupations, mostly romantic, of a ­superstar now years away from the streets. It has two guest spots, from The Weeknd and Rihanna, and the vibe, both ­emotionally and musically, tends toward the minor key. “I’m opening you up to where I’m at,” says Future. “It’s about being ­vulnerable and not so cautious about what you say as far as your love life — if you was hurt or happy or in love.”