With his 2012 album Pluto, Atlanta rapper Future did the improbable, combining auto-tune, Afro-futurism, power-ballad schlock, and a demented rap-singing style to make one of the most potent, and most enjoyably whacked-out, hip-hop albums in recent memory. This new mixtape isn't a legit follow-up – for that, fans must wait for the irresistibly-titled Future Hendrix, due later this year – and it feels like a placeholder: an overlong showcase for the much-lesser MCs in his Freebandz Gang posse (none of whom standout), with some perfunctory all-star guests (Drake, Wale, Lil Wayne) tossed in. But Future's robotic sob remains compelling, especially in the Drake collab, and in songs like the drug anthem "Karate Chop," Future proves he can rap almost as entertainingly as he wails.

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”