Before I begin to explain why I loved Future’s 56 Nights, let me tell you a little story. The date was March 21st of this year. Myself, along with my friends Dylan, Rob, Zach, and Jake were all posted up in our hotel room in Austin, Texas where we were wrapping up our last night at South By Southwest. We were extremely drained from the previous 5 days of networking, heavy drinking, and walking the entire city. It was on this Saturday evening we decided we’d had it with party chasing and would stay in. Lucky for us, we had just bought a ton of sandwiches and were planning on enjoying them all night on our hotel room’s balcony. It was in the middle of eating one of our sandwiches that Zach poked his head onto the balcony and said “Yo, Future just dropped a new mixtape.” It just so happened Earl Sweatshirt had just dropped I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside a few hours prior. So, we finished up our sandwich and went back into the room to listen to all the new music that had just come out. What happened next was something like an acid trip. As Zach pressed play on the first track of 56 Nights, the rest of us looked at each other and began to absorb the importance of that moment. For the next several hours, the five of us listened to 56 Nights over and over again, completely in awe of how amazing and fluent the whole mixtape was. I don’t think any of us had any idea the amount of momentum 56 Nights and Future would pick up in the next coming months, and I can for sure say none of us were ready.
56 Nights holds a special place in my heart because of that one Saturday night in Austin but also because of the major musical movement that sprung up because of it. 2015 belonged to Future. You couldn’t turn on the radio, go to the club, hit up a house party, or chill at a kick back without hearing at least one Future track. The man was inescapable. The music was impressive too. Songs like “Never Gon Lose”, “Now”, “March Madness” and “Trap Niggas” all flowed seamlessly together, creating a cohesive mixtape with an interesting backstory. The title 56 Nights comes from Future’s DJ, DJ Esco (THA COOLEST DJ IN THE WORLD), spending 56 nights in a Dubai jail for drug possession. The mixtape is in celebration of DJ Esco’s safe return after the whole situation was sorted out, and also a milestone for when Future really found his lane.
It was in 2015 when Future put out a collaborative album with Drake. It was in 2015 when Future became a meme. It was in 2015 when the siren most famously used in the Kill Bill movies was hijacked and reclaimed as a staple in Future’s music. It was in 2015 when Future captured the hearts of a generation. It was in 2015 when Future became trap music royalty.
You can download 56 Nights for free here.
