French Montana enlists Future for promo single “No Pressure,” released months ahead of his sophomore album, ‘Jungle Rules.’  

Most of us expected French Montana to drop his sophomore album in 2016.  Originally, the rapper had set MC4 to arrive throughout the course of the year.  Ultimately, he scrapped the album, despite the fact that he had something going with single “No Shopping,” featuring Drake. Save for a last-minute change, Jungle Rules arrives mid-July 2017. “No Pressure,” featuring Future, arrived months ahead of Jungle Rules.

Following an intro by Future, French Montana takes ownership of his song.  A rub of “Unforgettable” and later “Bring Dem Things” is the fact that the MC allows himself to be overshadowed.  On both of those singles, he follows behind another MC who ultimately outperforms him. Here, he starts the flex-fest with the hook, which is simple, but infectious.  After the pressure’s off there, he dives into the first verse.  Are the rhymes prodigious? No, but at least French has swagger working on his side.

Future appears on the second verse, with predictable results.  The rhymes, much like French’s on the first verse, are nothing incredibly profound.  Future raps about dope heads, the feds, money – standard conversation over a cup of coffee.  On the final verse, French Montana takes the lead, but he gets the assist from his faded compadre, for better or for worse.

Final Thoughts

So, depth is not the modus operandi for either French Montana or Future.  It’s not expected to be, so no loss there.  All in all, this is a respectable single, but not game changing. The production work is one of the best aspects, helping to establish a vibe.  Yes, vibe is everything it seems, but, more depth and some profundity would benefit both artists. Still, it bangs.

French Montana • Jungle Things • Epic • Release: 7.14.17

Photo Credit: Epic