# Honest (Future album)
**Honest** is the second studio album by the Atlanta rapper Future, released on April 22, 2014 through A1, Freebandz, and [Epic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-records) as the follow-up to his 2012 debut, *Pluto*.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) Long in the making and repeatedly delayed, it was originally titled *Future Hendrix* before Future renamed it after its lead single.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html) • [3](https://www.thefader.com/2013/08/14/beat-construction-metro-boomin) The album peaked at number two on the [Billboard charts](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-charts), and Future's subsequent albums all reached the top spot.[4](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-future-draco)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Future (Nayvadius Wilburn), Atlanta rapper[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html) |
| Release | April 22, 2014, via A1/Freebandz/Epic; second studio album, follow-up to *Pluto* (2012)[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) |
| Length | 12 songs, 47 minutes (standard edition)[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/honest/834623015?l=en-US) |
| Chart peak | Number two on the Billboard charts[4](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-future-draco) |
| Guest artists | Kanye West, Drake, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, André 3000, Wiz Khalifa, Pusha T, Young Scooter, Casino[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) |
| Producers | Mike WiLL Made-It, Metro Boomin, DJ Spinz, 808 Mafia, Sonny Digital, and others[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) |
| Original title | *Future Hendrix*, renamed *Honest* during recording[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html) |
## Recording and title change
The album took two years to make. During that period [Future](https://www.edgepedia.org/future-rapper) was set on the title *Future Hendrix* and could not be talked out of it, according to the producer [Metro Boomin](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-boomin) (Leland Wayne), who recalled that after the single "Honest" dropped, Future changed the album title to match the song.[3](https://www.thefader.com/2013/08/14/beat-construction-metro-boomin) The Washington Post noted that the record was "subject to repeated release delays" before its April 2014 arrival.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html)
The title track began as a beat Metro Boomin made with DJ Spinz at his house, with Spinz starting on the keys and Metro building around them; Metro sent it to Future on a whim after seeing a tweet that Future was recording in Brooklyn. Future described the song as an "uptempo club record," though Pitchfork's reviewer characterized it as essentially a ballad, with plaintive chords over which Future recasts boastful success as a bashful admission.[3](https://www.thefader.com/2013/08/14/beat-construction-metro-boomin) • [6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/15841-future-honest/)
## Music and guests
The guest list is unusually heavy for a sophomore album: [Kanye West](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanye-west), Drake, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, André 3000, [Wiz Khalifa](https://www.edgepedia.org/wiz-khalifa), Pusha T, Casino, and [Young Scooter](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-scooter) all appear, with production from Mike WiLL Made-It, 808 Mafia, Metro Boomin, and others.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) The Washington Post described the record as "extravagantly overstuffed with features," calling it the rapper equivalent of a clown car.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html)
Production reaches beyond trap on several tracks. The opener "Look Ahead" samples [Amadou & Mariam](https://www.edgepedia.org/amadou-and-mariam) and Santigold's 2012 track "Dougou Badia" over kicks, claps, and guitars.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html) • [7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19221-future-honest/) Mike WiLL Made-It approximates Noah "40" Shebib's pulsating bass on "Never Satisfied" and pairs gritty, almost atonal synths with rattling low end on "Move That Dope," which features Pharrell and [Pusha T](https://www.edgepedia.org/pusha-t).[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19221-future-honest/) Future told Grammy.com that Mike Will played the record for Pharrell and Pusha T, who then wanted to be part of it.[8](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-straight-talk-with-future/) The album closes with "Blood, Sweat, Tears," a sermon about perseverance over martial drums and strings.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19221-future-honest/)
The standard edition runs 12 tracks, opening with "Look Ahead" and including "T-Shirt," "Move That Dope," "My Momma" (with Wiz Khalifa), "Honest," "I Won" (with Kanye West), "Never Satisfied" (with Drake), "I Be U," "Covered N Money," "Special" (with Young Scooter), "Benz Friendz (Whatchutola)" (with [André 3000](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-3000)), and "Blood, Sweat, Tears." A deluxe edition adds six tracks, among them "Sh!t" and "Karate Chop (Remix)" with [Lil Wayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-wayne).[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/) • [5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/honest/834623015?l=en-US)
One planned collaboration did not make the record: a [Nicki Minaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicki-minaj) song was left off because of clearance issues around its sample of [George Michael](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-michael)'s "Careless Whisper."[9](https://pitchfork.com/features/update/9365-future/)
## Reception and place in Future's career
Pitchfork's review, published on release day, argued that *Honest* showed Future coming into his own: the production was described as expansive, moving away from trap toward atmospheric pop and bionic R&B, and the album as making *[Pluto](https://www.edgepedia.org/pluto-future-album)* look like a transitional record.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19221-future-honest/) The Washington Post called it "a confounding mix; familiar, pop-minded trap imbued with utter zonked-out weirdness," and highlighted "Benz Friendz (Whatchutola)" as sounding like a long-lost Outkast song.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html)
Commercially, *Honest* reached number two on the Billboard charts; every Future album released afterward has reached number one.[4](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-future-draco) In retrospect, writers have treated the album as Future's most overt bid for pop and R&B crossover: a later Pitchfork retrospective on *Monster* called *Honest* the closest Future has come to breaking free of his genre's gravitational pull, while noting that he had marketed it as his most personal record.[10](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/future-monster/) Following *Honest*, Future released a trilogy of album-quality mixtapes in 2015 that cemented his run with Metro Boomin.[11](https://www.grammy.com/news/future-metro-boomin-trap-music-career-timeline/)
## References
1. [Future's Album Honest Features Andre 3000, Kanye, Drake, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, More, Pitchfork (March 10, 2014)](https://pitchfork.com/news/54288-futures-album-honest-features-andre-3000-kanye-drake-pharrell-lil-wayne-more/)
2. [Future finds himself at the center of the hip-hop universe on 'Honest', The Washington Post (April 21, 2014)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/future-finds-himself-at-the-center-of-the-hip-hop-universe-on-honest/2014/04/21/6887b478-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html)
3. [Beat Construction: Metro Boomin, The FADER (August 14, 2013)](https://www.thefader.com/2013/08/14/beat-construction-metro-boomin)
4. [Inside Track: Future "Draco", Sound on Sound](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-future-draco)
5. [Honest - Album by Future, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/honest/834623015?l=en-US)
6. [Future: "Honest" Track Review, Pitchfork (August 8, 2013)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/15841-future-honest/)
7. [Future: Honest Album Review, Pitchfork (April 22, 2014)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19221-future-honest/)
8. [Straight Talk With Future, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-straight-talk-with-future/)
9. [Future: The Update Interview, Pitchfork (April 2, 2014)](https://pitchfork.com/features/update/9365-future/)
10. [Future: Monster Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/future-monster/)
11. [How Future & Metro Boomin Became Trap Music's Greatest Duo, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/future-metro-boomin-trap-music-career-timeline/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › Southern hip hop albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license