I’m not the biggest fan of Future or Drake. It is not that I think they are bad; I just don’t follow their music very closely. I did enjoy Drake’s last mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and enjoyed quite a few tracks off of Future’s last album Dirty Sprite 2. When Drake hinted at a collaboration album between the two,  I was immediately intrigued; I even started an Apple Music trial to listen to it upon release. While supplying some interesting tracks, What A time To Be Alive is a largely forgettable experience.

The album starts with the track “Digital Dash” which quickly establishes the tone of the album with booming bass and simple melodies in the backgrounds. Future provides an extremely forgettable verse–rapping of the trap and his women–but rides the beat fairly well and sits seamlessly into the track, complementing the instrument well. The problems really start to rise when Drake arrives at the end of the track. Vocals sound awful over this type of production because his voice simply does not fit over the hazy trap style that Future provides.

This is the main problem throughout the entire project. The story goes that this project was brought about by Drake stopping by Future’s studio and writing a verse. If that is true then it is extremely evident. All of the beats off this album could easily be put on Dirty Sprite 2 and work, but as a collaborative album it simply does not flow. The best moments on this album come from high energy tracks like “Jumpman” and “Digital Dash” while laid back tracks like “Plastic Bag” and “30 for 30 Freestyle” (by far the best track on the album) offer a bit of variation. These tracks not only show off the best of the beats on the album, but Drake’s and Future’s flow. Sadly, though, everything else on the album so generic that it just is not worth your time.