Future’s second-wind mixtape-trifecta kicked off with 2014’s Monster. But it was Beast Mode that stoked the flames of the Future Hive’s reestablished goodwill. Released in January 2015, Beast Mode marks the rapper’s first full-length collaboration with Zaytoven, the veteran producer who’d helped launch Gucci Mane’s career, and who’d brought Atlanta trap music to the mainstream. It proved to be a fruitful partnership—albeit one born from an international crisis. As Future later explained on the DS2 deep cut “Kno The Meaning,” Beast Mode got its (accidental) start in 2014. That’s when Future’s right-hand man, DJ Esco, was imprisoned in Dubai. Authorities confiscated a hard drive with two years’ worth of recording, forcing Future to record a slew of new music. In an obsessive, three-day studio session, he and Zaytoven composed and recorded the nine icy tracks of Beast Mode, in which the anguish of his previous tape has cooled but not yet healed. The resulting mixtape remains the most streamlined and sophisticated project of the rapper’s career—thanks in no small part to Zaytoven. His ivory-tickling beats were already infamous, thanks to such recent hits as Migos’ 2013 breakthrough “Versace.” On Beast Mode, though, it’s clear Zaytoven and Future share a deeper chemistry, unlocking in one another new levels of soul. The producer’s elegant touch adds several degrees of luxury to flashy player anthems like “Lay Up” and “Peacoat.” But it’s the baroque “No Basic” that offers the keenest insight into Future’s state of mind: Namely, that drugs, women, and money can numb the sting of heartache—but only for so long. Over Zay’s intricate keys, Future unloads his pent-up pain: “They gave me the game and I ran with it/Took all the pain and I ran with it.” It’s as good a summary as any of his angst-fueled renaissance—and the work of an artist nearing the top of his game.