By Taimoor Nawaz
On Dec. 2, multi-platinum producer Metro Boomin is set to release Heroes and Villains, the sequel to his 2018 album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes. The second in what has been dubbed a trilogy by the rap producer, the release comes after a two-year hiatus since his 2020 collaboration album, Savage Mode 2. In that time, Metro, whose real name is Leland Wayne, faced the tragic loss of his mother and the abrupt passing of Migos member, Takeoff, last month. The album is set to have a similar concept to his 2018 foray, with all production being handled by Wayne while he has his frequent collaborators, and some newer figures, take the vocal performances.
While Wayne has released the tracklist, we know little about which artists are on what songs. Wayne, also dubbed Young Metro, released a short film under the same name directed by Gibson Hazard, who was responsible for the videos for Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” and Lil Nas X’s “Holiday.” It features Lakeith Stanfield as the villain wreaking havoc on the city of ‘Metropolis’ and Metro, accompanied by Morgan Freeman acting as an Alfred-type character, who must return to save the day. Three songs from the upcoming album were featured. One is the song “Superhero,” featuring the voice from the iconic producer tag, Future, and for his first Metro collaboration, singer Chris Brown. Two songs featuring 21 Savage were also featured, one with fellow Atlanta rapper, Young Nudy, and the other with Toronto R&B singer, Mustafa, who released his first album, When Smoke Rises, last May.
However, Metro has confirmed the features on another song that, when first revealed, was met with much excitement. “Niagara Falls,” previously a highly coveted Travis Scott and 21 Savage collaboration, is finally coming to fruition on Friday and, according to Metro, the mixed and polished version is better than the original. A$AP Rocky has also been confirmed to appear on the album, based on a snippet Metro shared in October and Rocky’s consistent support of promotion for the album. We can also expect Young Thug and Gunna to appear due to their cameo in the short film and their extensive history of collaboration prior. Based on the features of his last album, we can expect rappers like Without Warning collaborator Offset to have a presence on the album. However, despite having the tracklist, basing the features on past collaborations does not narrow it down very much.
Metro’s return to production is being made out to be a massive event for not only the rap industry but Metro himself. To quote the film, Morgan Freeman tells Metro, “We all know that the city loves its legends, but tonight they need a hero. Which one do you wanna be?”
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