Future is the sound of right now

The only question going into Future’s main stage set was this — just how deep would he dip into his Rolodex for guests?

The answer: very deep.

Ty Dolla Sign, Migos and Drake all came to pay alms during his king-making set, which had one of the biggest and rowdiest crowds of the weekend.

Future’s whacked-out strip club jams are the perfect fit for the Coachella of the moment. Mind-warping vocal effects, sing-speak rapping, stark and heavy productions — that’s the way to churn crowds today. The kids want to party, not brood, and Future knew exactly how to handle the job.

To boot: He also had the best backing visuals of the day, digitally diced up erotica artfully pixelated just enough for the crowd out there. If you could film the inside of someone’s brain on a vat of GHB, it would look like this.

Even when Future surrenders the stage, he still commands it. It’s hard to overestimate just how nuts the crowd went for “Bad and Boujee” and “Jumpman.” Those songs define the sound of being young right now. Even though his surprise guests were obvious choices (hey, at least this time Drake finally looked like he was having fun on a Coachella main stage) they cemented the fact that at Coachella, Future is the sound of right now.

Across the field, L.A.’s Schoolboy Q had his own heaving, rapt crowd to stir. He’s not the highest-profile TDE artist playing this weekend (that would be label mate Kendrick Lamar), but he relishes his role as the party-riling foil to Lamar’s sage. On the Outdoor Stage, it worked — every path in and out was full of grinding fans.

With Gucci Mane still to come in the Sahara Tent, it’s clear that this is the year Coachella got hip-hop right on its biggest stages, and while other art-rock and pop acts are at the top of the bill, this is the sound that young fans want and need here.