Future’s latest chart-topping, Drake-infused hit is heavy with the duo’s usual rumination on love—its ups and downs, gains and losses, and how the weight of fame tends to tip the scales. “Wait For U” offers their trademark portrait of modern love, one unanswered text, one one-night stand, or one DM dance at a time.
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Set to hazy, dream-like synths and faraway beats, the lax lyrics hint at a relationship turned toxic and track down the real perpetrator behind the soured love.
Behind the Lyrical Meaning
Early in the mornin’, late at night / It doesn’t even matter what time it is, raps Future in between the soulful vocals, Presidential Rollie, RM, wait / Whenever I find time, it’s okay. The haunting I will wait for you that kicks off the song and resound throughout are sampled from Tems’ song, “Higher,” which appears on her 2020 EP, For Broken Ears.
Honest and vulnerable, the artist spits some pretty hard truths to a love interest. He can sense trouble brewing in their relationship, rapping I’m knowin’ the sounds of the storm when it come / She understand I can’t take her everywhere a n*** going / I been in the field like thе children of the corn.
Future finds himself frustrated and at his wit’s end with a long-distance relationship that has been plagued by the miles apart, the pressures of fame, and the gossip that arises due to both.
The chorus plays, I can hear your tеars when they drop over the phone / Get mad at yourself ’cause you can’t leave me alone / Gossip, bein’ messy, that ain’t what we doing / Travel around the world / Over the phone, dropping tears.
In a substance-assisted state, Future is able to open up and be real about the realities of their relationship. He raps in the chorus, I get more vulnerable when I do pills / When you drunk, you tell me exactly how you feel / When I’m loaded, I keep it real / Please tell a real one exactly what it is /
Don’t say it ’cause you know that’s what I wanna hear.
Drake takes the reins in the next verses, hunting down the reasons for his own love gone under. Yeah, I been trappin’ ’round the world, he raps against Tems’ soft harmonies. I sit on my balcony and wonder how you feelin’ / I got a career that takes my time away from women.
Drake is traipsing around the globe entertaining fans but is constantly pining over someone that is suddenly out of touch. I cannot convince you that I love you for a livin’, he explains, I be on your line, feelings flowin’ like a river / You be textin’ back you at Kiki on the river / Message say delivered, but I know that you don’t get it.
He raps about another man in her life, saying how she used and manipulated him and his celebrity stature for her own gain. His words bite as he raps, You got better when you met me and that ain’t coincidental / Tried to bring the best out you, guess I’m not that influential / Guess I’m not the one that’s meant for you.
The chorus plays again and the song closes with both Future and Drake left unlucky in love with fame as the main suspect in the death of their relationships.
The Tale of the Toxic King
Set in the Dark Ages and spotlit by medieval battles, armored knights, and ladies in waiting, the music video accompanying “Wait For U” follows the tale of the Toxic King.
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Director X helmed the project that depicts a chainmail-clad Future as the king in question, who is setting off into battle and dealing with queen-related relationship woes in the interim. In the video, the war is fought and Future is found triumphant, a victory he celebrates with a bed full of women.
When the queen learns of his infidelity, a back-and-forth ensues with the king enlisting the help of Drake as a messenger and mediator between the dueling lovers. Watch the epic tale of the Toxic King unfold, below.
Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage
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