Drake, Future Drop Joint Mixtape ‘What a Time to Be Alive’

Drake and Future have released their collaborative album ‘What a Time to Be Alive.’

Drake unveiled his joint mixtape with Future, What a Time to Be Alive, Sunday on his OVO Sound radio show on Beats 1, which was followed by the album’s exclusive iTunes and Apple Music release. “It’s a little soundtrack for people that need it right now,” Drake said of the 11-track album.

“I went to Atlanta for six days a couple weeks ago with the hopes of doing some songs with Future, and when you get around Future, it’s like a vortex, that guy can outwork anybody right now,” Drake said. “It’s tough to see someone do four, five songs in one night and not try to match it.”

Drake also credited Metro Boomin for the bulk of the production (along with Southside, Boi-1da and Noah “40” Shebib) and Ernest Baker for providing the title What a Time to Be Alive . The OVO Sound episode frequently sampled the popular Simpsons meme that gave life to that phrase, where the geriatric Springfield denizen Jasper spots a moonpie in the Kwik-E-Mart and quips, “What a time to be alive.” Future also drops the line in “Big Rings.”

On Saturday, Drake revealed that he and Future would partner up for a new album by posting What a Time to Be Alive‘s diamond-encrusted artwork (a stock image purchased off Shutterstock) on Instagram as well as a photo mashing up Drake’s OVO Sound logo with Future’s Freebandz emblem. Drake then teased during his Music Midtown Festival performance in Atlanta on Friday, “Sunday will be madness.”

Drake and Future first teamed on the latter’s “Tony Montana,” a cut off Future’s 2012 debut LP Pluto. The two rappers also appeared on Future’s Honest track “Never Satisfied in 2014 before reuniting again for DS2‘s “Where Ya At?” The two rappers also co-starred on Lil Wayne’s “Love Me” and DJ Drama’s “We in This Bitch 1.5”

The album also becomes the second Drake release ”“ following If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late ”“ to get an Apple-only airing before its physical release; Drake was among the artists to align with Apple Music prior to the streaming service’s launch, and the rapper routinely shares exclusive tracks on his Beats 1 radio show.

Drake and Future hit the road together earlier this year as part of the Canadian rapper’s Jungle Tour this past spring. A collaborative album by the pair was almost unfathomable two years ago as the rappers endured a brief but loud beef with one another stemming from comments Future made about Drake’s 2013 LP Nothing Was the Same. Those remarks got Future canned as opening act Drake’s Would You Like a Tour?, but after he sued for lost wages, the two rappers ultimately reconciled.

What a Time to Be Alive will be available on iTunes and Apple Music exclusively for one week before its widespread release.

What a Time to Be Alive Track List
1. “Digital Dash”
2. “Big Rings”
3. “Live From the Gutter”
4. “Diamonds Dancing”
5. “Scholarships”
6. “Plastic Bag”
7. “I’m the Plug”
8. “Change Locations”
9. “Jumpman”
10. “Jersey”
11. “30 for 30 Freestyle”