How Future’s “Mask Off” Made The Flute Hip-Hop’s Hottest Instrument

The success of Future’s hit “Mask Off” makes it official: the flute is having a moment in hip-hop right now. The song has become Future’s biggest solo hit without a guest—it hit No. 19 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the Top 10 on Genius' Top Songs Chart, and it’s currently sitting at No. 2 on Spotify’s U.S. Top 50 Chart. A lot of that success is thanks to the song’s catchy flute sample.

The track was produced by Metro Boomin and samples a flute lick from the 1976 track “Prison Song” by Tommy Butler.

While “Mask Off” has been getting all the attention, the flute has actually been everywhere over the last six months and hip-hop’s affection for the sound can be heard in classic tracks that date back to the ‘90s.

Check out the Genius video above for a deeper look at the flute’s influence in hip-hop and read all the lyrics to “Mask Off” on Genius.