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Evol (Future album)

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This article is about the 2016 album by American rapper Future. For the 1986 album by Sonic Youth, see EVOL (Sonic Youth album). For other uses, see Evol (disambiguation).
Evol
Studio album by
Future
ReleasedFebruary 6, 2016 (2016-02-06)
Genre
Length39:26
Label
Producer
Future chronology
Purple Reign
(2016) 		Evol
(2016) 		Free Bricks 2K16 (Zone 6 Edition)
(2016)
Singles from Evol
  1. "Low Life"
    Released: March 1, 2016
  2. "Wicked"
    Released: April 13, 2016

Evol (stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Future. It was released on February 6, 2016, through A1 Recordings and Freebandz, and distributed by Epic Records. The album features a sole guest appearance from the Weeknd. It premiered on DJ Khaled's We The Best Radio debut on Beats 1. Evol released five months after the collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive (2015) and a month after Purple Reign (2016). Production was handled by frequent collaborators Metro Boomin, Southside, TM88 and DJ Spinz, among others.

Evol was supported by two singles: "Low Life" and "Wicked". The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. It also debuted at number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Background and release

[edit]

On December 25, 2015, The Weeknd released a collaborative song with Future, titled "Low Life", on SoundCloud. It was produced by Metro Boomin and Ben Billions and co-produced by The Weeknd. The song was later revealed to be included on Evol.[1][2] On March 1, 2016, "Low Life" was released as the album's first single.[3] A music video for the track premiered on MTV on the same month.[4]

On February 1, 2016, DJ Khaled announced that he would be premiering Future's fourth album on the debut show of We The Best Radio on Beats 1.[5] Future then announced the album title, release date and artwork, as well as individually tweeting the track list.[6]

The album cover artwork was created by the Polish creative production studio Ars Thanea.[7] The album's title is love spelled backwards.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.8/10[9]
Metacritic68/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Billboard[12]
Clash8/10[13]
ConsequenceB+[14]
The Guardian[15]
HipHopDX3.0/5[16]
Pitchfork7.3/10[17]
PopMatters6/10[18]
Spin8/10[19]
XXL4/5[20]

Evol was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 17 reviews.[10] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.8 out of 10, based on its assessment of the critical consensus.[9]

In his review, Craig Jenkins of Billboard states, "The spite of 2014 mixtape Monster, the woe of 2015's Beast Mode, and the devilish glee of his No. 1 album DS2 have all chilled into a dull malaise here". He concluded with "Evol doesn't break any rules or set many new ones, but as the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of wonders Future and his team wield in their creation of druggy, downcast afterparty dispatches, it is a joy".[12] Matthew Ramirez of Pitchfork found that while Evol "has slightly more misses than hits, the highs are high—arguably higher than Purple Reign's".[17] Sheldon Pearce of Consequence said, "It's an extraordinary triumph of ambitious trap soundscapes and an excellent complement for a driven artist, a man no longer inhibited by loss. With every passing release, Future grows more confident, and more callous".[14] Dean Van Nguyen of Clash said, "Again Future marshals the glittering soundscapes expertly, his tuneful flow reining in the beats while imbuing all the fragility, heartsickness and aggression that make it the most impressive instrument in rap right now".[13] Israel Daramola of Spin said, "EVOL, along with the Purple Reign mixtape, doesn't provide that instant hit that Future's world-class 2015 was so full of. Instead it crawls into your brain and makes itself at home; you'll find yourself going back to it over and over without even realizing".[19]

Chris Gibbons of XXL said, "EVOL is only the latest building block on one of the most impressive runs from any rapper we've seen, and Future shows no signs of slowing down for anything".[20] Grant Rindner of The Line of Best Fit said, "Odds are Future will drop another project or five between now and the end of the calendar year, so while EVOL is ultimately dispensable it's still a pretty good time".[21] Shirley Ju of HipHopDX said, "As it stands, EVOL is nothing out of the ordinary from his past endeavors. With no measures in place preventing from Future releasing new full-length projects, this album could easily be surpassed in a month or two".[16] Lanre Bakare of The Guardian said, "The formula is working, but for fans using his albums as a way in, they're missing a big part of what makes Future so intriguing".[15] Brian Duricy of PopMatters said, "EVOL doesn't stand up to his critical peaks, but this could easily be seen as but a release to tide fans over before the next blockbuster".[18] Andy Gill of The Independent said, "His raps here still stick fairly closely to the trap-music conventions that have dominated the hip-hop scene in Future's hometown Atlanta for the past decade or so".[22]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Evol debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 134,000 album-equivalent units; it sold 100,000 copies in its first week, and boasted over 25 million streams.[23][24] Evol is the third project by Future to debut on the Billboard 200 at number one in seven months.[25] As of March 2016, the album has sold 125,000 copies domestically.[26] As of May 2018, the album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 1,000,000 units in the United States.[27]

Track listing

[edit]
Evol track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ain't No Time"
Southside3:22
2."In Her Mouth"
  • Wilburn
  • Luellen
Southside3:12
3."Maybach"
  • Wilburn
  • Luellen
Southside3:40
4."Xanny Family"
3:05
5."Lil Haiti Baby"
4:37
6."Photo Copied"
  • Wilburn
  • Luellen
Southside2:52
7."Seven Rings"
TM883:25
8."Lie to Me"
3:32
9."Program"
  • Wilburn
  • Luellen
Southside2:56
10."Low Life" (featuring The Weeknd)
5:13
11."Fly Shit Only"
  • Wilburn
  • Hill
  • McGee
  • DJ Spinz
  • SK
3:32
Total length:39:26
Streaming edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Wicked"
  • Metro Boomin
  • Southside
2:53
Total length:42:19

Sample credits

  • "Wicked" contains a sample of "Kanet Rohi", written by Özcan Deniz and performed by Rayan.

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Evol
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Platinum 80,000‡
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for Evol
Region Date Label(s) Format(s) Ref.
Various February 6, 2016
[41]
September 28, 2018 Vinyl [42]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Future + The Weeknd – Low Life [Prod. By Metro Boomin & Ben Billions] by Metro Boomin". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Weeknd, Future Drop Laid-Back New Track 'Low Life'". Rolling Stone. December 25, 2015. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Future's "Low Life" Edges Drake's "Summer Sixteen" For Most Added At Rhythmic Radio". Headline Planet. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Watch Future and The Weeknd's Video for "Low Life"". Complex. March 25, 2016. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  5. ^ "Future Reportedly Debuting An Album On DJ Khaled's New Apple Music Show This Friday". Stereogum. February 4, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  6. ^ Darville, Jordan (February 3, 2016). "Future's New Project EVOL Is Up For Pre-Order Tonight". The Fader. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ^ Low, Carver (February 4, 2016). "Future's "EVOL" Album Art Has Been Identified, And It's Not Stock Photography This Time". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Future Announces New Album 'EVOL'". Rap-Up. February 3, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "EVOL by Future reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Reviews for EVOL by Future". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Jeffries, David. "Evol – Future". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Jenkins, Craig (February 8, 2016). "Future Hits His Songwriting Stride on Surprise Album 'EVOL': Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Dean Van Nguyen (February 19, 2016). "Future – EVOL". Clash. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Pearce, Sheldon (February 9, 2016). "Future – EVOL". Consequence. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Bakare, Lanre (February 18, 2016). "Future: Evol review – prolific hip-hop star tones down the weirdness". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Ju, Shirley (February 11, 2016). "Future EVOL Review". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Ramirez, Matthew (February 11, 2016). "Future: EVOL". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Duricy, Brian (February 9, 2016). "Future: EVOL". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  19. ^ a b Daramola, Israel (February 10, 2016). "Review: Future Speeds Down the Expressway to Yr. Skull on 'EVOL'". Spin. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  20. ^ a b Gibbons, Chris (February 10, 2016). "Future Keeps It Consistent With His Gift of Melody on 'EVOL'". XXL. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  21. ^ Rindner, Grant (February 16, 2016). "EVOL by Future". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  22. ^ Gill, Andy (February 12, 2016). "Future, Evol: 'Rapping romantic heading down a dead-end street', album review". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  23. ^ "Future Scores Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. February 14, 2016. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  24. ^ "Charts Don't Lie: February 17". HotNewHipHop. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  25. ^ "Future's "EVOL" hits #1 In Its First Week". HotNewHipHop. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  26. ^ "Charts Don't Lie: March 2". HotNewHipHop. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  27. ^ a b "American album certifications – Future – Evol". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Future – Evol". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Future – Evol" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Future – Evol" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  31. ^ "Future Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Future – Evol" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  33. ^ "Lescharts.com – Future – Evol". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  35. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  36. ^ "Future Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  37. ^ "Future Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  38. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  39. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Future – Evol". Music Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  41. ^ "EVOL by Future". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  42. ^ "Evol [LP] by Future". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
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