Nayvadius DeMun Cash (né Wilburn; born November 20, 1983), known professionally as Future, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Known for his mumble-style, rap-singing and prolific output, Future is credited with helping pioneer the use of Auto-Tuned delivery in trap music. He is commonly regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Future signed a recording contract with Rocko's A1 Recordings in 2011, which entered a joint venture with Epic Records shortly after. His first two studio albums, Pluto (2012) and Honest (2014), were both met with critical and commercial success, spawning the platinum-certified singles "Turn On the Lights", "Honest", "Move That Dope" (featuring Pharrell Williams and Pusha T), and "I Won" (featuring Kanye West). His subsequent albums have each debuted atop the US Billboard 200; his third and fourth, DS2 (2015) and Evol (2016), were supported by the singles "Where Ya At" (featuring Drake) and "Low Life" (featuring the Weeknd), respectively. Future's eponymous fifth album and its follow-up, Hndrxx (both 2017) made him the first musical act to release two chart-topping projects on the Billboard 200 in consecutive weeks—the former spawned his first Billboard Hot 100-top ten single, "Mask Off."
After departing A1, Future released the albums The Wizrd (2019) and High Off Life (2020)—the latter spawned the diamond-certified single "Life Is Good" (featuring Drake). Future guest appeared alongside Young Thug on Drake's 2021 single "Way 2 Sexy," which became his first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 after a record-breaking 125 entries. His ninth album, I Never Liked You (2022) spawned the single "Wait for U" (featuring Drake and Tems), which became his second to peak the chart and first to do so as a lead artist. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Best Melodic Rap Performance, while its parent album received a nomination for Best Rap Album. His two collaborative albums with record producer Metro Boomin—We Don't Trust You and We Still Don't Trust You (both 2024)—continued his string of number-one projects on the Billboard 200; the former spawned his third Billboard Hot 100-number one single and first to remain atop the chart for several weeks: "Like That" (with Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar). Future then released Mixtape Pluto (2024), his seventeenth mixtape which caused him to become the first hip-hop artist to have three number one albums in the same year, and in less than six months.
Future has released the mixtapes Beast Mode (with Zaytoven), 56 Nights (with Southside), and What a Time to Be Alive (with Drake) in 2015—the latter spawned the single "Jumpman". He has released the full-length collaborative projects Super Slimey (2017) with Young Thug, Wrld on Drugs (2018) with Juice Wrld, Pluto x Baby Pluto (2020) with Lil Uzi Vert. Among the best-selling hip-hop musicians, Future's accolades include three Grammy Awards from a total of fifteen nominations. He also holds the record for the most albums at number one on the US Top Rap Albums chart, with 16.
Early life and education Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn was born on November 20, 1983, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Stephanie Jester. He attended Columbia High School in nearby Decatur. At age 16, he was shot in the hand and robbed, an event he regards as a major turning point in his life.
Career Early years Future began his career under the name "Meathead", as a member of the Georgia-based musical collective Dungeon Family. He was led to join the group by his first cousin Rico Wade (1972–2024), who was part of the group's in-house production team Organized Noize and operated the East Point, Georgia "Dungeon" studio which the collective's name was based from. Future performed in a smaller hip-hop group within the collective who went by the name "Da Connect", where he would later be nicknamed "The Future" by group member G-Rock. Da Connect recorded one album, Rico Wade Presents: Da Connect which was slated for commercial release in 2003, but was ultimately shelved. Future had one solo record on the project titled "Belly of da Beast", which is considered to be his first song. He did not use autotune in his early career with Da Connect compared to later in his career. During this time, Future appeared in numerous Dungeon Family music videos, and received his first songwriting credit on the Organized Noize-produced single, "Blueberry Yum Yum" for rapper Ludacris in 2004.
Wade encouraged him to sharpen his writing skills and pursue a career as a rapper, as recording would create temporary respite from street life. Future voices his praise of Wade's musical influence and instruction, calling him the "mastermind" behind his sound. He was thereafter discovered by fellow Atlanta rapper Rocko, who took Future under his wing as a solo artist on his A1 Recordings record label.
2010–2014: Mixtapes, Pluto and Honest
From 2010 to early 2011, Future released a series of mixtapes including 1000, Dirty Sprite and True Story. The latter included the single "Tony Montana", in reference to the Scarface film. He gained regional popularity after his songs were played by DJ Esco at Magic City, a strip club in Atlanta deemed "largely responsible for launching the careers of artists." In April 2011, he co-performed with Atlanta rapper YC on his single "Racks", which would become his first hit song and Billboard Hot 100 entry—peaking at number 42. In July of that year, Future and rapper Gucci Mane would release a collaborative mixtape, Free Bricks.
Future signed a major label recording contract with Epic Records in September 2011, days before the release of his next mixtape, Streetz Calling. The mixtape was described by XXL magazine as ranging from "simple and soundly executed boasts" to "futuristic drinking and drugging jams" to "tales of the grind". A Pitchfork review remarked that on the mixtape Future comes "as close as anyone to perfecting this thread of ringtone pop, where singing and rapping are practically the same thing, and conversing 100% through Auto-Tune doesn't mean you still can't talk about how you used to sell drugs. It would almost feel antiquated if Future weren't amassing hits, or if he weren't bringing some subtle new dimensions to the micro-genre."
Though Future had told MTV that Streetz Calling would be his final mixtape prior to the release of his debut studio album, another mixtape, Astronaut Status, was released in January 2012. In December 2011, Future was featured on the cover of Issue 77 of The FADER. XXL'''s Troy Mathews wrote, "While Astronaut Status is up and down and never really hits the highs like 'Racks', 'Tony Montana', and 'Magic' that fans have come to expect from Future, it's apparent that he's poised to continue the buzz of 2011 humming right along into 2012." Future was selected to the annual XXL Freshmen list in early 2012.
His debut album Pluto, originally planned for January 2012, was eventually released on April 17. Its first three singles were mastered re-recordings of pre-existing songs, "Tony Montana", "Go Harder", and "Magic", the latter contained a guest feature from high-profile hometown native, rapper T.I. According to Future, "'Magic' was the first record T.I. jumped on when he came outta jail. Like, he was out of jail a day and he jumped straight on the 'Magic' record without me even knowing about it." The track became Future's first single as a lead artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 69 in April 2012. In addition, the albums next singles, "Same Damn Time" and "Turn on the Lights" peaked at number 92 and 50 on the Hot 100 respectively, further ushering Future into the mainstream spotlight. The latter was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA and spawned a remix featuring Lil Wayne. Other collaborators on the album include Trae tha Truth, R. Kelly and Snoop Dogg. On October 8, 2012, Future would perform the hook for Pusha T's single "Pain", which preceded his 2013 debut studio album My Name Is My Name.
It was announced that Future would be repackaging his debut album Pluto on November 27, 2012, under the name Pluto 3D, featuring 3 new songs and 2 remix songs, including the remix for "Same Damn Time" featuring Diddy and Ludacris, as well as his single "Neva End (Remix)" featuring Kelly Rowland. In November 2012, Future wrote, produced, and co-performed with Barbadian singer Rihanna on "Loveeeeeee Song", from the singers seventh studio album, Unapologetic.
On January 15, 2013, Future released the compilation mixtape F.B.G.: The Movie which features the artists signed to his Freebandz label: Young Scooter, Slice9, Casino, Mexico Rann and Maceo. It was certified platinum for having over 250,000 downloads on popular mixtape site DatPiff. Future said of his second studio album Future Hendrix it will be a more substantive musical affair than his debut album and features R&B music along with his usual "street bangers". The album was to be released in 2013. The album featured his then-fiancée Ciara, as well as other high-profile artists including Kanye West, Drake, Kelly Rowland, Wiz Khalifa, and André 3000, among others.Harling, Danielle. (December 19, 2012) Future Confirms Collaborations With Rihanna, Kanye West & More For "Future Hendrix" | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales . HipHop DX. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
The album's lead single, "Karate Chop" featuring Casino, premiered on January 25, 2013, and was sent to urban radio on January 29, 2013. The song, produced by Atlanta-based producer Metro Boomin, spawned an official remix featuring Lil Wayne, was sent radio and was released on iTunes on February 19, 2013. On August 7, 2013, Future changed the title of his second album from Future Hendrix to Honest and announced that it would be released on November 26, 2013. It was later revealed that the album would be pushed back to April 22, 2014, as it was said that Future has tour dates with Drake on Would You Like A Tour?.Future Talks About "Honest," Drake's Album . Complex (October 4, 2013). Retrieved on November 16, 2013. Along with "Karate Chop", the album was preceded by the singles "Honest", "Shit", "Move That Dope", featuring Pharrell and Pusha T and "I Won" featuring Kanye West; "Honest" peaked at number 55 on the Hot 100. Upon release, the album was received generally positively and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200. During this time, Future also made a slew of guest appearances on hit songs including Lil Wayne's 2013 hit single "Love Me", Rocko's single "U.O.E.N.O." the same year, and DJ Khaled's 2014 single "Hold You Down". The former became his first top-10 entry on the Hot 100 and received diamond certification from the RIAA.
2015–2017: DS2, Evol, Future, and Hndrxx
Future released DS2 on July 17, 2015. On September 20, 2015, Future released a collaborative mixtape with Canadian rapper Drake, titled What a Time to Be Alive. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, Billboard R&B Charts, and Billboard Hot Rap Songs, marking the first time a rapper was able to score two number one albums in a year, in 11 years, since Jay Z back in 2004. The mixtape has sold over 334,000 copies in the U.S. On January 17, 2016, Future released another mixtape, titled Purple Reign, with executive production from Metro Boomin and DJ Esco, as well as beat credits from Southside, Zaytoven and more. On February 5, 2016, Future premiered his fourth studio album, EVOL, on DJ Khaled's debut episode of the Beats 1 radio show We The Best. In 2016, Future became the fastest artist to chart three number-one albums on the Billboard 200 since Glee soundtrack albums in 2010.