Metro Boomin Talks Success of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ & Why Future Is an ‘Anomaly’

Metro Boomin is shaping up a resume that would be the envy of any producer. Not only did he enjoy his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Heroes & Villains last year — which was officially certified platinum by the RIAA last week — this month, he served as executive producer for the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack.

Ahead of his Governor’s Ball performance in New York on Friday (June 9), Boomin expressed elation and gratitude for his recent feats, as the film has grossed nearly $390 million in ticket sales worldwide. “It’s surreal — it’s like I’m living a dream,” Boomin said during his Heroes & Villains pop-up, where he met with fans to sign comic books and hand out merch.

The 13-track effort features a bevy of hip-hop heavy hitters, including Nas, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage and A$AP Rocky. Shortly after its June 2 release, Boomin added five more tracks to the soundtrack, rounding out the project to 18 songs, with additional features from Becky G, Arya Starr, Shenseea, and Omah Lay. “It was kind of like basketball or something,” relayed Boomin regarding the shift in creativity when building Heroes and Spider-Man. “I was already in rhythm and in shape to do that. I was already in the studio every day all day for months doing Heroes. And then with [Across the Spider-Verse], it was just an extension of that.”

As previously mentioned, Metro nabbed an elusive feature from Nas for the soundtrack’s outro “Nas Morales.” For the Atlanta producer, a simple conversation with the rap legend’s manager, Anthony Saleh, helped piece the collaboration together, and earned Metro a rare appearance from the man who has solely worked with Hit-Boy the last few years on his King’s Disease trilogy. 

“It was definitely a blessing to get Nas,” said Metro. “A good friend of mine, Anthony — who manages Nas — me and him were just having a casual [conversation]. He pulled up to the studio, and we just chopped it up about stuff. He spoke about stuff they had going on, and I spoke about what I had going on. He said Nas was down to do some s–t for Spider-Man, and I was like, ‘Hell Yeah. No-brainer.'”

Along with securing the coveted Nas verse, Metro tapped a familiar face for his stout super-team on Across the Spider-Verse: Future, who along with the star producer, has tantalized fans for several months with the prospect of a pending joint album — which both say is dropping sometime this year. Metro commends Future for his longevity and growth, saying: “Future is an anomaly. You don’t get to see too many people of any industry perform and deliver at the rate and level that he does for this amount of time. I met him and started working with him when I was 18 to [my current age of] 29, and he was on before that. It’s a true testament to his grind and his will.” 

As Metro successfully nets another win this week, with Across The Spider-Verse Soundtrack debuting inside the Billboard 200 top ten — along with seven songs on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 — he credits his string of victories to his resilience. Last week was the one-year anniversary of the passing of his mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, who was allegedly killed by her husband (not Metro’s biological father). 

“I pray daily. I walk by faith,” said Metro. “I got my brothers and sisters that love me. That’s all I need. It motivates me and drives me in a way. Knowing that I’m not the only one going through those types of things, I feel like it’s my calling to be a light and a vessel to let other people know that you can get through whatever and there’s still more life to live no matter tragic things may be. So I want just want to inspire people and show there’s always more life to living.”