''Purple Reign'' is the sixteenth

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by American rapper

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

, hosted and executive-produced by

DJ Esco William Seay Moore (born December 31, 1990) known professionally as DJ Esco, is an American DJ, record producer, and record executive. Career A resident DJ at Magic City Mondays in Atlanta, Moore has worked as a DJ and A&R representative for ...

and

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. ...

. It was released on January 17, 2016 with an 11-hour notice via LiveMixtapes and

DatPiff DatPiff is an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Media ...

. It is Future's first non-commercial mixtape since the mixtape trilogy '' Monster'' (2014), '' Beast Mode'' and '' 56 Nights'' (2015). ''Purple Reign'' follows the commercial collaborative mixtape ''

What a Time to Be Alive ''What a Time to Be Alive'' is a collaborative commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake and American rapper Future. It was released on September 20, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Republic Records, Epic Records, A1 R ...

'' with Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. The mixtape features production from frequent collaborators

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...

Zaytoven Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), professionally known as Zaytoven, is an American trap music record producer, disc jockey, and keyboardist from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Ma ...

DJ Spinz Gary Rafael Hill (born April 21, 1989), professionally known as DJ Spinz, is an American record producer, songwriter and disc jockey. Spinz became a DJ in the late 2000s before turning into a record producer as well. He has produced hits for other ...

and

Nard & B Nard & B are an American record production team, composed of record producers James "Nard" Bernard Rosser Jr. and Brandon "B" Rackley, from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2007, the duo signed a deal with American recording artist T.I.'s Grand Hustle Recor ...

, among others. The cover font is a tribute to

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's landmark 1984 album '' Purple Rain'', which is stylized in the same fashion. The mixtape was re-released for streaming platforms on April 16, 2020, removing the single "Wicked" and including the song "News or Something".

Background and composition

2015 was a significant year in rapper

's career. He worked on mixtapes '' Monster'' (2014), '' Beast Mode'' (2015), '' 56 Nights'' (2015), a collaboration mixtape with

, ''

'' (2015), and his studio album '' DS2'' (2015) shifted from introspective

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s to macabre rap numbers about drugs and sex. Analyzed Matthew Ramirez of '' Spin'', ''Purple Reign'' continues this antagonist style, but with more restraint to the point where Future sounds

stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy * STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain * ...

and the instrumentals "muted" and "monochrome". A few moments involve Future delivering the style of sad, straightforward lines prominent on ''Streetz Calling'' (2011) and ''

Astronaut Status ''Astronaut Status'' is the ninth mixtape by American rapper Future. It was released on January 12, 2012. The album features guest appearances from rappers Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Ludacris and Rocko. Future previously stated ''Streetz Callin ...

'' (2012). As he laments on "Never Forget", "I ain’t make my auntie’s funeral I ain’t never forget it / I know she know I love her and I hope she forgive me."

Release and promotion

The mixtape was released without prior announcement on January 17, 2016, available for download on free mixtape hosting platforms such as

and LiveMixtapes. In 2020, Future began re-releasing popular mixtapes that were unavailable on digital streaming platforms, such as '' Beast Mode'' and '' 56 Nights''. On April 16, 2020, ''Purple Reign'' was released for digital purchase and streaming. The tracklist was altered to remove the single "

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

" due to its inclusion on the album ''

Evol Evol may refer to: * ''Evol'' (Sonic Youth album), 1986 * ''Evol'' (Future album), 2016 * EvoL, South Korean girl group * "E.V.O.L.", a song by Marina and the Diamonds * ' Kamen Rider Evol', the main antagonist of a Japanese tokusatsu series, Ka ...

'', combining the "Intro" with "All Right" and extending the track "Salute". The song "News or Something" was included as the final song, originally released in 2015 via Future's

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

as part of the "#MonsterMondays" series.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an average score of 71, based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jayson Greene of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' wrote that ''Purple Reign'' is "a fine tape, but considered in the run of the most vital rapper working, relatively minor."

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co- producer Sample credits * "Wicked" contains a sample of "Kanet Rohi" written by

Özcan Deniz Özcan Deniz (born 19 May 1972) is a Turkish actor, singer, composer, writer and director, who is of Kurdish descent. Life His family is of Kurdish origin. Deniz's family is originally from Ağrı but he was born in Ankara and grew up in Ayd ...

, and performed by Rayan.Rayan
WhoSampled.com.

References

2016 mixtape albums Future (rapper) albums Albums produced by Southside (record producer) Albums produced by Metro Boomin Albums produced by Zaytoven Albums produced by Nard & B {{2010s-hiphop-album-stub Trap music albums