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With an inarguable legacy that's now 10 years deep, and an impending new album that marks the start of another fresh chapter, Future is giving fans a rare look behind the curtain with his documentary The WIZRD. As the Atlanta icon explained in a recent interview with Big Boy, the Apple Music exclusive is seven years in the making and served as a reminder to maintain "tunnel vision" when it comes to the creative process.
"I haven't seen it," Future said earlier this week. "I seen the clips. That was a long time ago. . . . It helped me to stay focused because even then I didn't know I would be here. Once you have that tunnel vision, so many things will come along the way or try to stop you from going to the next level or the next step or whatever you have to do. You've just gotta keep going."
The album of the same name, out Jan. 18, notably marks the final album in Future's current record deal. "I already had another deal planned so it's kicked in right after this deal stops," he explained in that same interview, likening his new deal to a "basketball contract."
Though Future didn't get specific on what lies ahead, the newly released documentary does a nice job of encapsulating some of his creative high marks thus far. Below, we've rounded up five notable moments from the documentary we felt were worth directly pointing out to you. To see the full thing yourself, grab your Apple Music info and head over here.
Alternate 'What a Time to Be Alive' Tracklist
A little less than halfway through the doc, we're treated to some studio footage circa the Drake collab project What a Time to Be Alive. As seen in multiple shots, there's a whiteboard behind Future in these clips that does indeed contain an alternate potential WATTBA tracklist.
Most notably, there's "Do Me Dirty (Interlude)"—which may or may not be the "Diamonds Dancing" outro—and "Chain Cost a House," which surfaced in late 2018.
"Paris Morton Music 3," meanwhile, could have ended up as "30 for 30 Freestyle" or something else entirely. We may never know.
Image via Apple Music
Gucci Flip Flops: The Origin Story
The power of sheer autobiography is at the center of Future's DS2 opener "Thought It Was a Drought." As Future explains in the doc, the track's most memorable and repeated lines are torn straight from a moment he says occurred mere hours before he tracked the vocals.
"I remember really having some Gucci flip flops on and I was, goddamn, I was, you know what I mean? I was smashing a b*tch at the penthouse right by the door with my Gucci flip flops on," he said around 28 minutes into the doc. "And this ain't no disrespect. I really lived that moment and then went right to the studio." Back in 2015, Future's "Thought It Was a Drought" commentary was slightly different.
The Impact of Seth Firkins' Death
"The studio is a church," late engineer and all-around music appreciator Seth Firkins tells the audience in Future's new doc. As longtime fans know, Firkins—who died in 2017—is a key player in the decade-long timeline that lands us at Future's seventh studio album.
Both Firkins and Future lived by that studio-as-church philosophy, treating the space with the utmost respect by forcing an unbreakable creative bond that still inspires Future today.
"I got the call saying Seth passed," Future recalled. 'It was like, it wasn't real to me. To this day, it still don't feel real. All my vocals still say 'Seth vocals,' the same chair he used to sit in? That's where I sit and record. I spent more time with him than my family, I spent more time with him than my kids, I spent more time with him than anybody in the world."
The Significance of "Mask Off"
The making of Future's "Mask Off," the second single from his self-titled album and one of his biggest hits to date, has been discussed in previous interviews. Future even revisited the track's unlikely path to ubiquity in his aforementioned Big Boy deep-dive. In WIZRD, Future explains to a studio crew on break how the song inspired him to change his entire vocal process and detailed the sample-related confusion at the heart of its origin tale.
"['Mask Off'] wasn't even legit," he said. "This sh*t was on the radio, they thinking this not a sample, but it got so big that they was like, 'Man it's a sample.' They didn't wanna believe it was a sample." Put another way, the track was initially released with an uncleared sample of Tommy Butler's "Prison Song."
As for the track's continued impact, Future found himself tuned into a new winning formula. "I never made songs sitting down until I made 'Mask Off,'" he said roughly 54 minutes into the doc.
He Wishes His Late Grandfather Could Have Seen the Man He Became
Future's grandfather, previously described as hugely influential on Future's initial decision to pursue music, is further credited here as someone whose approval Future still ponders regularly.
"He wanted this for me so bad because he probably was like, 'Man, what is he gon' be?' and he didn't get a chance to see what his grandson has become and the f*cking magnificent change that I have made as a person, as a grandson," he said.