Want to hop in a time machine and go back to early 2000s Atlanta? Just play A Futuristic Summa.
In 2024, Metro Boomin found himself inadvertently at the center of rap’s biggest beef. The song that sparked the battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, “Like That,” appeared on Metro’s joint project with Future, We Don’t Trust You. That album and its sequel, We Still Don’t Trust You, both debuted atop the Billboard 200, with the first album earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album and the latter scoring a nom for best melodic rap performance for its title track. Though the year unequivocally belonged to K.Dot, as far as producers go, few had a better 2024 than Metro Boomin. How would he follow it up in 2025? By moving out of the present and taking his fans back to a simpler time: Atlanta in the early 2000s.
Metro’s latest release — a two-disc mixtape made for late night cruises to no destination in particular and BBQs that begin at noon and spill into the early evening — aims to cultivate a different sort of attention than his work last year. Metro Boomin Presents: A Futuristic Summa (Hosted By DJ Spinz) is low stakes by nature. It arrived with little fanfare and is purposely positioned as a throwback-style mixtape. It takes listeners back to the days of Gangsta Grillz and Datpiff downloads, when rap was measured by what song you made your ringtone and whose video was playing most frequently on “106th & Park”. That’s not to say Metro didn’t put significant effort into this release.
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What makes A Futuristic Summa so successful (it’s in many ways a perfect late summer album) is how true it is to Metro’s vision. This is his Atlanta childhood in audio form, from the tinny horn samples and early trap drums to the sticky sweet choruses and frequent DJ drops.
In a tweet shortly after the album was released, Metro wrote: “THIS TAPE REALLY BRINGING ME BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL [five crying emojis] THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED!!! MOST FUN I EVER HAD MAKING A PROJECT!!! LONG LIVE STREET!!!! [five American flag emojis].” It’s easy to hear just how much fun Metro is having throughout the project.
The guestlist, too, is full of artists that take the listener back to a different era. Young Dro and Gucci Mane make an appearance on “They Wanna Have Fun,” and Waka Flocka Flame comes through on “Clap.” One of many standouts, “I Like That,” features guest verses from Waka, 2 Chainz, and Roscoe Dash. T.I., Young Dro, Roscoe, and Travis Porter team up on “U Deserve,” which could have easily fit on Tip Carter’s 2006 LP, King.
Metro’s more…modern friends show up, too. Quavo and Lil Baby each drop a verse, and 21 Savage and Future make an appearance, too. There’s not a particular rhyme or reason as to who shows up and when they do, but the pop-by nature of this all-day party makes this whimsical approach all the more interesting.
Commercially, does this approach work in the same way as a traditional release? There are no market-targeted singles, no attempts at TikTok trends or viral moments. And yet, the album sits firmly in the top five of Apple Music’s album chart. Will A Futuristic Summa have the lasting global impact that Metro’s 2024 did? Absolutely not. But lowering the stakes feels like the right move for the producer. He’s already accomplished more in this game than most people dream of. Now that he has the platform, why not create something fun, stress-free, and a throwback to a simpler time? That’s exactly what Metro Boomin has done here, and it’s refreshing to see a lighthearted body of work approached with care, thoughtfulness, and an intense focus on a particular aesthetic. A Futuristic Summa isn’t gonna take over the world, but Metro Boomin’s already done that. With this project, he’s created something arguably more important: a project for himself.
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