Mask Off
single
CoverFuture – Mask Off.jpg
ArtistFuture
AlbumFuture
ReleasedApril 18, 2017[1]
Genre
Length
Label
Writer
ProducerMetro Boomin
ChronologyFuture
Prev year2017
Next year2017

"Mask Off" is a song by American rapper Future from his eponymous fifth studio album (2017). The track was later released as the second single after initially charting as an album track.[2] "Mask Off" was written by Future alongside producer Metro Boomin, with additional writing credits going to Tommy Butler for the sampling of "Prison Song".

It was Future's highest-charting single, peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, until the releases of "Life Is Good" (2020), "Way 2 Sexy" (2021), "Wait for U" (2022), and "Like That" (2024) with the former peaking at number two, and the latter three peaking at number one. The song was also his highest charting solo song until "Puffin on Zootiez" (2022) peaked at number four. A remix featuring Kendrick Lamar was released on May 23, 2017.

Future and the FreeWishes Foundation announced the "Mask On" campaign in 2020. Together, they provided more than 100,000 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Composition

The song samples "Prison Song", written and produced by Tommy Butler and sung by Carlton Williams, released in 1976.[3] In this track, Future opens up about drug use and addiction problems ("Percocets, Molly, Percocets").[4]

Chart performance

"Mask Off" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week of May 6, 2017, becoming his first top-five charting single on that chart.[5] It also peaked in the top 10 in New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, and France, where it charted the highest at number two. It has since been certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over nine million units in the United States.

Music video

The music video for "Mask Off" was released on May 5, 2017. It was directed by Colin Tilley, and features appearances from Amber Rose and DJ Esco.[citation needed]

Live performances and remixes

The official remix features a guest appearance from fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar and was mixed by engineer Alex Tumay, released on May 23, 2017.[6] Its release follows the performance of "Mask Off" by Future alongside Kendrick Lamar at the 2017 Coachella Festival.[7] Lamar performed live covers of "Mask Off" at every show on the Damn Tour since the release of the remix.[8]

On May 28, 2017, Joyner Lucas released his own remix onto SoundCloud and YouTube entitled "Mask On". On the remix, he sent shots at Logic and Lil Yachty.[citation needed]

On June 16, 2017, a remix produced by Marshmello was released, which was deemed ironic by some as the DJ is known for masking his identity behind his namesake marshmallow-inspired helmet.[9][10]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
Australia Urban (ARIA)[11]1
France (SNEP)[12]2
Greece International (IFPI)[13]4
Italy (FIMI)[14]52
Latvia (DigiTop100)[15]59
Philippines (Philippine Hot 100)[16]44

Year-end charts

Chart (2017)Position
Australia (ARIA)[17]64
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[18]78
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19]15
Denmark (Tracklisten)[20]40
France (SNEP)[21]8
Germany (Official German Charts)[22]53
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[23]58
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24]49
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25]38
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[26]34
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27]34
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[28]43
US Billboard Hot 100[29]14
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[30]7
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[31]19

Release history

RegionDateFormatVersionLabelRef.
United StatesApril 18, 2017Contemporary hit radioOriginalA1 · Freebandz · Epic[1]
May 23, 2017Digital downloadRemix[32]
June 16, 2017Marshmello Remix[33]

Legacy

See also

References

  1. ^ "Top 40/Future Releases". All Access. Archived April 17, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Chandler, D.L. (April 8, 2017). "Future's "Mask Off" Single Goes Gold Amid #MaskOffChallenge Spree". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Witmer, Phil (2017-02-23). "A Brief History of That Kickass Flute Sample on Future’s “Mask Off”". VICE. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  4. ^ Levy, Lauren (6 February 2018). "These Are the Drugs Influencing Pop Culture Now". Vulture. Archived 2025-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 June 2025. The rapper Future elevated Perc-worship to a new status in the chorus of his hit 'Mask Off', which consists in part of the recitation 'Percocets, Molly, Percocets'. [...] Molly is a resurgent form of ecstasy [ that commonly comes in powder or crystal form.
  5. ^ "Future Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  6. ^ "Preview Kendrick Lamar's Verse on Future's "Mask Off" Remix". XXL. May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "Coachella 2017: Watch Kendrick Lamar Bring Out Future, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q". Pitchfork. April 17, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Masley, Ed (July 13, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar launches DAMN. Tour in Glendale with triumphant one-man show of force". AZ Central. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  9. ^ "Mask Off (Marshmello Remix)". Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  10. ^ Lucas (2017-06-16). "Marshmello Ironically Remixes "Mask Off" By Future". Your EDM. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  11. ^ "ARIA Urban Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  12. ^ "Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) - SNEP" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved April 18, 2017.[dead link]
  13. ^ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 46/2024" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. November 20, 2024. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Classifica settimanale WK 18" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  15. ^ "Vecgada izēšanās ir aiz muguras: kā tas mainījis DIGiTop100 gada pirmās nedēļas topu!?" [New Year's Eve is behind us: how did it change the DIGiTop100 top of the first week of the year!?] (in Latvian). Skaties.lv. January 11, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "BillboardPH Hot 100". Billboard Philippines. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "ARIA End of Year Singles 2017". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  18. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  20. ^ "Track Top-100 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  21. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2017" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  23. ^ "Stream Top 100 - 2017". Mahasz. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2017". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  25. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 2017". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  26. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2017" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  27. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2017 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  28. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  29. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  30. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  31. ^ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  32. ^ Remix version of Mask Off, featuring Kendrick Lamar, both non-explicit and explicit versions was released on May 23, 2017, on Apple Music. * "Mask Off (Remix) [feat. Kendrick Lamar] - Single by Future on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). 23 May 2017. * "Mask Off (Remix) [feat. Kendrick Lamar] - Single (Explicit) by Future on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). 23 May 2017.
  33. ^ Marshmello's remix version of Mask Off, both non-explicit and explicit versions was released on June 16, 2017, on Apple Music. * "Mask Off (Marshmello Remix) - Single by Future on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). 16 June 2017. * "Mask Off (Marshmello Remix) - Single (Explicit) by Future on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). 16 June 2017.
  34. ^ "Future's 'Mask Off' Trends After CDC Reveals New Guidelines". HipHopDX. 2021-05-13. Archived from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  35. ^ "How Future's 'Mask On' COVID-19 Campaign Has Helped Hundreds of Thousands". Complex. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  36. ^ Alston, Trey. "Future's 'Mask Off' Has 'Easily' Provided More Than 100,000 Masks During The Coronavirus Pandemic". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  37. ^ Johnson, Cherise (2020-09-20). "City of Inglewood creates COVID-19 "Mask On" PSA inspired by Future". REVOLT. Retrieved 2021-08-08.