Tony Montana (song)

"Tony Montana" is a song by American rapper Future, released on April 16, 2011 as the lead single from his debut studio album ''Pluto'' (2012). Written by Future and A1 Recordings label boss Rocko, the song was produced by Will-A-Fool and finds Future comparing himself to the namesake character from the 1983 film '' Scarface''. An official remix of the song featuring Canadian rapper Drake was released on July 6, 2011.

"Tony Montana" is credited for pioneering the microgenre known as mumble rap.

Background

Regarding the song's vocal tone and sound, Future stated in an interview with ''The Boombox'':

It was the energy of the track and what I was going through at the time. It's an aggressive song so that's why I got an aggressive tone. And then just feeding off that " Racks" energy and wanting to come back with another smash hit. That's what really influenced the record. I was trying to be creative and reinvent myself all over again. I wanted to mention something white so I got the "Tony Montana" idea and used it as a metaphor. Nobody had did a song called "Tony Montana."

In an interview with Peter Rosenberg for ''Complex'', Future described the night he recorded the track: "I remember being so fuckin' high on this song, I couldn't even open my mouth. When I listened back to it the next day, I was like man, what the fuck is this? But I loved it. Like, that shit sound raw, though."

Remixes

The official remix of the song features Canadian rapper Drake and was released on July 6, 2011. According to Future, ideas for the collaboration began when he was contacted by Drake while working in the studio and complimented for his mixtapes and styles of rapping. Lil Wayne wanted to collaborate on the remix as well for his mixtape, but Future worked with Drake instead to avoid being overshadowed.

The song has also been remixed by several other rappers, including Meek Mill, French Montana, Tyga, Pusha T and Lil B.

Music video

The music video was directed by Jessy Terrero and was released on October 27, 2011. In it, Future is called by a cartel to track down the culprit in the robbery of a shipment of drugs and travels from his hometown of Atlanta to Santo Domingo for the job. He interacts with the locals, rides on a bike through the "grimy streets," and "cozies up to some Latina hotties."

Drake does not appear in the video. In an interview with ''MTV'', Future expressed disappointment with Drake's decision to skip the video shoot, which drove him to reconsider his decision to collaborate with Drake on the remix.

Critical reception

Critical response to the song was generally mixed; some praised the song's catchiness and production, while others criticized its repetition. A ''New York Times'' article dated September 2011 described Future as " rising titan, figuring in two of the year's biggest songs: his single 'Tony Montana,' in which he raps with the world's weakest fake Cuban accent" and further added " he song and his previous single "Racks"follow a straightforward pattern, familiar to fans of Atlanta hip-hop: extremely catchy and oft-repeated hook, devil-may-care attitude, jagged and delirious production" and concluded: "Future was all confidence and presence… eis a capable if not thrilling rapper, but he's flexible."

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Future songs

2011 singles
2011 songs
Future (rapper) songs
Songs written by Future (rapper)
Music videos directed by Jessy Terrero