''Purple Reign'' is the sixteenth

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

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 ex ...

, 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, record executive, and songwriter. He is best known for his 2016 single " Too Much Sauce" (featuring Future and Lil Uzi Vert), which pe ...

and

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer and music executive. Widely acclaimed for his dark and cinematic production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential p ...

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

DatPiff DatPiff was 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 Me ...

. It is Future's first non-commercial mixtape since the mixtape trilogy ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'' (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-American rapper Drake and American rapper Future. It was released on September 20, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Republic Records, Epic Recor ...

'' with Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

. The mixtape features production from frequent collaborators

, Southside,

Zaytoven Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...

, DJ Spinz, 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 title and 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. The ...

'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". "Wicked" would later be included on streaming editions of Future's fourth studio album, '' Evol'', which released a month after ''Purple Reign''.

Background and composition

2015 was a significant year in rapper

's career. He worked on mixtapes ''

'' (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 were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s to macabre rap numbers about drugs and sex. Analyzed Matthew Ramirez of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', ''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 Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...

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'' (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'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

" due to its inclusion on the album '' Evol'', 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 a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

as part of the "#MonsterMondays" series.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, 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 or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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, and performed by

Rayan Rayan (), also spelt Rayyan, Rayyaan, Rayaan, or Raian, is generally a given name of Arabic origin, both male and female, meaning "luxuriant," "well-watered" or "satiated" in Arabic. In Arabic and Islamic tradition, it is the name of one of the ...

.Rayan
WhoSampled.com.

References

{{Authority control 2016 mixtape albums Future (rapper) mixtape albums Albums produced by Southside (record producer) Albums produced by Metro Boomin Albums produced by Zaytoven Albums produced by Nard & B Freebandz mixtape albums