Nayvadius Cash^[1] (born Nayvadius D. Wilburn; November 20, 1983),^[2] better known by his stage name Future, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia,^[1] who is signed to Epic Records, A1 Recordings and his own label Freebandz. After releasing a series of successful mixtapes between 2010 and 2011, Future signed a major label deal and in April 2012 released his debut album Pluto to positive reviews. The album spawned 5 singles, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later re-released in November as Pluto 3D. Future is currently working on his sophomore album Future Hendrix, which is planned for a 2013 release, and also performing with his group Freeband Gang, with whom he released 2 mixtapes since the beginning of the year.

Career [edit]

Career beginnings [edit]

Future was born in Atlanta, Georgia.^{[citation needed]} His name came about after members of the musical collective The Dungeon Family called him "The Future". His cousin, producer Rico Wade of the Dungeon Family, encouraged him to sharpen his writing skills and pursue a career as a rapper. He soon came under the wing of Atlanta's own Rocko who signed him to his label A-1 Recordings. Since then his work ethic has driven him to his success.^[3] From 2010 to early 2011, Future released a series of mixtapes including 1000, Dirty Sprite and True Story.^[3][4] The latter included the single "Tony Montana", in reference to the Scarface film.^[4][5] During this time, Future also partnered with Gucci Mane on the Free Bricks collaborative album and wrote YC's single "Racks".^[6][7]

2011-12: Epic Records and Pluto [edit]

Future signed a major label deal with Epic Label Group in September 2011, days before the release of his next mixtape, Streetz Calling.^[8] 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."^[7] iRome on an interview with Pitchfork Media 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."^[5]

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 of 2011, Future was featured on the cover of Issue #77 of the Fader.^[9] Before his album being released in April 2012.^[10][11] 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."^[12] Future was selected to the annual XXL Freshmen list in early 2012.^[13]

His debut album Pluto, originally planned for January, was eventually released on April 17.^[14][15] It included remixes of "Tony Montana" featuring Drake and "Magic" featuring T.I..^[16] 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."^[16] The track became Future's first single to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[17] Other collaborators on the album include R. Kelly, Snoop Dogg and Trae Tha Truth.^[18] On October 8, 2012, Pusha T released "Pain" featuring Future, the first single from his upcoming debut album.

It was announced that future will be repackaging his debut album Pluto on November 27, 2012 under the name Pluto 3D featuring 3 new songs & 2 remix songs including the remix for "Same Damn Time" featuring Diddy & Ludacris, as well as his newest street single "Neva End (Remix)" featuring Kelly Rowland.^[19] In 2012, Future wrote, produced and was featured on "Loveeeeeee Song" taken from Barbadian singer Rihanna's seventh studio album Unapologetic.

2013-present: Future Hendrix [edit]

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.^[20] Future said of his second studio album Future Hendrix it will be a more substantive musical affair than his debut album and will feature R&B music along with his usual "street bangers". The album will be released in 2013.^[21] The album will feature Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Rowland, Jeremih, Andre 3000, Ace Hood, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and many more.^[22] Including same productions from Mike WiLL Made It, Sonny Digital, Will-A-Fool, DJ Spinz & more. Also Pharrell Williams will produce a song for the album. The album's lead single, "Karate Chop" featuring Casino, premiered on January 25, 2013 and was sent to urban radio on January 29, 2013.^[23] The song is produced by Metro Boomin. The official remix, which features Lil Wayne, was sent radio and was released on iTunes on February 19, 2013.

Personal life [edit]

In 2001 he had a son with Jessica Smith. In 2012 she filed for child support. A DNA test confirmed Future was the father. He legally recognized the son as his and was ordered to pay $1662 in child support.^[24] Another woman claimed Future was the father of her child, born December 4, 2012, which has not been yet proven.^[25] In January 2013, Future revealed to Vibe magazine that he is in a relationship with American singer Ciara.^[26]

Discography [edit]

• Pluto (2012)
• Future Hendrix (2013)^[27]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website
• Future on Twitter
• Future on Facebook