Future Bio: From Trap Legend to Pop Superstar - The Hip Hop Insider (2024)

Future is one of the biggest rappers in the world and one of the defining artists in the trap genre. Known for his soulful autotune-laced ballad about coming up in the treacherous streets of Atlanta, Future has established himself as one of the most iconic artists of his generation.

From his debut album Pluto to his recent smash hit, I Never Liked You, he’s a rapper who has proved his longevity in the game through a tireless work ethic and a keen understanding of the culture.

My personal favorite Future projects include 56 Nights, Dirty Sprite 2, and FUTURE because I think those are the most cohesive projects in his catalog. But he has so many classics it’s tough to choose. Here is a closer look at the life and career of Future.

Future Quick Facts

Future Birthplace

Future was born on November 20th, 1983, in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in the Kirkwood neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta in an area known to many trap fans as Zone 6. When Future was growing up, the crack epidemic hit the area hard, which had a significant impact on the young rapper.

Future Parents

Future’s mother is named Stephanie Jester. Not much is known about his father, except that he was not in his son’s life and wasn’t even on his birth certificate. He was primarily raised by his mother and various grandparents, uncles, and cousins who lived nearby.

When Future was young, Stephanie worked as a 911 operator, but she eventually got her real estate license and founded her brokerage. Today, she is a successful entrepreneur with multiple businesses and charity organizations.

She is also the COO of her son’s record label Freebandz Global Music and the two co-founded the FreeWishes Foundation, which supports disenfranchised Atlanta communities.

Future Early Life

The rapper has not revealed much about his early life. His childhood nickname was Meathead, which was his first rap name before switching to Future. His extended family helped raise him, often staying at his grandmother’s house in Kirkwood. Many of his family members were drug addicts and dealers, and he quickly became accustomed to that lifestyle.

He attended Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia, where he played basketball. But he quickly got sucked into the street life as a teenager and began dealing drugs. He ended up catching several charges over the next few years, including drug possession, receiving stolen property, and failure to appear in court.

He dropped out of high school in his senior year and began hustling full-time. At one point, he was in so much trouble with the law that he legally changed his name from Wilburn to Cash so that when he committed a crime, people would tell the police his birth name, but he wouldn’t come up in the system. The move was genius, but it only influenced him to take bigger and bigger risks.

When he was 17, he was shot in the hand, which made him realize that the life he was living may not last forever. So, he started looking for a way out.

He also came from a musical family. His cousin, Rico Wade, was a record producer and member of the legendary Dungeon Family. He encouraged Future to hone his rapper skills, giving him a skill set that could one day take him out of the streets. Future took his advice and began going to the studio to work on music.

Future Professional Career

Future met fellow Atlanta rapper Rocko through another artist named Parlae from the group Dem Franchize Boyz. Rocko immediately took a liking to Future and took him under his wing. At the time, Future was going by the name The Phuture, but Rocko convinced him to change it to just Future. The two developed a close bond, and Rocko ended up signing Future to his record label A1 Entertainment in 2010.

After signing to A1, Future started dropping back-to-back mixtapes, including 1000, Dirty Sprite, and True Story. He also linked up with fellow Zone 6 native Gucci Mane, and they dropped a collaborative mixtape called Free Bricks in 2011.

Future’s career started to pick up steam when he was featured on the song Racks by YC. The song was a minor hit that peaked at number 42 on Billboard, where it stayed for 17 consecutive weeks. Future also developed a relationship with DJ Esco, a producer, and DJ who worked at the famous strip club Magic City. DJ Esco showed the rapper a lot of support early on and played his music frequently in the club, helping him build a local buzz.

In September 2011, he signed his first major-label deal with Epic Records and dropped back-to-back mixtapes Streetz Calling and Astronaut Status, which helped him start to gain mainstream exposure. He appeared on the cover of Fader at the end of 2011 and was part of the 2012 XXL Freshman Class.

He released his debut album Pluto in April 2012, which featured guest appearances from Drake, T.I., Juicy J, Snoop Dogg, and many more. The album was generally well-received by critics and debuted at number eight on Billboard.

Following the release of Pluto, Future announced that his next album would be slicker and more R&B-inspired. After several delays, he released the project Honest in April 2014, which included features from some of rap’s biggest stars, such as Pharrell, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. The album debuted at number 2 on Billboard and was generally well-received by critics. But many hardcore fans criticized Future’s decision to go with a more pop-oriented sound and abandoned the grimy street bangers that made him famous.

So, after the release of Honest, Future decided to return to his roots and went on a historic mixtape run that included modern trap classics like Monster with Metro Boomin, Beast Mode with Zaytoven, and 56 Nights with DJ Esco. These are some of my all-time favorite Future projects because this was a period in time when he seemed to be the most hungry and in his element.

This historic run culminated with the 2015 album Dirty Sprite 2, a project full of lethargic, drug-laced bangers that helped define the new trap sound coming out of Atlanta. DS2 is one of my favorite Future projects because it’s his most raw yet well-developed and feels like a perfect representation of his sound.

Future followed up on the success of DS2 by dropping What a Time to Be Alive, a collaborative project with Drake. The project received mixed reviews but was the first time that a rapper dropped back-to-back number one albums in the same year since Jay-Z did it in 2004.

In 2016, he dropped a mixtape called Purple Reign and another album called EVOL. Both were generally well-received, but some claimed that his style and delivery started getting repetitive and uninspired.

In 2017, Future returned and shocked the world by dropping two albums in two weeks – FUTURE and HNDRXX. FUTURE was full of the hard-hitting club bangers that made Future famous, including the mega-hit Mask Off. HNDRXX was more laid back and R&B-inspired, featuring guest appearances from Rihanna, Chris Brown, and The Weeknd. Both albums were well received by critics and made Future the first artist to drop two Billboard charting albums in two consecutive weeks.

Future continued to grind over the next few years, dropping a collaborative project called WRLD on Drugs with the late Juice WRLD in 2018 and the WZRD in 2019. He also won his first Grammy in 2019 for Best Rap Performance for the track King’s Dead from the Black Panther soundtrack.

In 2020, he dropped another collaborative album with Lil Uzi Vert called Pluto x Baby Pluto and a solo album called High Off Life. He also scored his first number-one single in 2021 alongside Drake and Young Thug with the song Way 2 Sexy.

Then in 2022, he dropped the album I NEVER LIKED YOU, which featured appearances from Drake, Young Thug, Kanye West, and Gunna. The album was a massive commercial success and sold 222,000 copies in the first week, making it Future’s eighth album to debut at number one. It was also well received by fans and critics, proving that Future could still consistently deliver after over a decade in the rap game.

Future Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyAHO0U-KQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS-dcqzdXD8

Future Family

Future has a brother named Casino, who is the CEO of Freebandz, Future’s record label. He also has seven children with seven different women.

He has a 17-year-old son Jakobi with Jessica Smith, an 11-year-old daughter with India J, a 7-year-old son with Brittni Mealy, and a 5-year-old son Future Zahir with Ciara, a 16-month-old son name Hendrix and a one-year-old daughter named Reigh with Eliza Reigh.

He also has a daughter named Paris and a son named Kash with women whose identities are unknown.

Future Dating and Relationship History

Future is a notorious player and has a long history of high-profile relationships. He’s dated rapper Dess Dior and model Lori Harvey and was even rumored to be in relationships with Nicki Minaj and Larsa Pippen (although this hasn’t been confirmed).

He dated singer Ciara for ten months after they met in 2012. The couple became engaged in October 2013 but eventually broke it off in September 2014, not long after the birth of their son Future Zahir Wilburn.

Future Controversies and Scandals

Future has faced frequent criticism for his misogyny and glorification of drug use. The rapper is known to feud with his various exes on social media, especially his ex-fiancé Ciara who accused the rapper of cheating on her with his wardrobe assistant.

The rapper also caught some heat on social media after his baby mama, Brittni Mealy, shared a text message between Future and their eight-year-old son, where the rapper allegedly said, “Your mom is an h**.” Future denied the accusation and claimed the texts were fake, but he still faced some heat.

He’s also faced criticism for his portrayal of drug use in his music, especially opiates like lean and Percocet. While initially he just shrugged off the complaint, he admits that he started to have second thoughts after Juice WRLD – who overdosed on opiates in 2019 – told Future that he was inspired to sip lean because of his music. He has since quit drinking cough syrup but was hesitant to admit it publicly because it has become such a major part of his image.

Future Net Worth

Future’s net worth is estimated to be around $40 million. He makes most of his money from rapping, brand endorsem*nts, touring, merchandise, and doing features for other artists. His feature prices are estimated to be around $40,000, and he charges up to $150,000 per show. His monthly income is estimated to be approximately $1.5 million, and his annual income is around $23 million.

Future Famous Quotes

“I ain’t giving up on myself, so if you give up on me, I ain’t got nothing else to say to you” – Future

“You got one life to live. So, I’m Living it the way I want to live it” – Future

“Don’t ask for a million dollars. Ask for the stuff that’ll get you a million dollars – your health, your brain, your sanity, wisdom. Prepare me for when I do get the million. Make sure I don’t go crazy, make sure I help my family.” – Future

Future Discography & Full Credits

Studio Albums

2012 – Pluto

2014 – Honest

2015 – DS2

2016 – Evol

2017- FUTURE

2017 – HNDRXX

2019 – The Wizrd

2020 – High Off Life

2020 – Pluto x Baby Pluto (Lil Uzi Vert)

2022 – I Never Liked You

Mixtapes

2010 – Kno Mercy

2011 – Dirty Sprite

2011 – True Story

2011 – FDU & Freebanz (with Stuey Rock)

2011 – Free Bricks (with Gucci Mane)

2011 – FDU & Freebandz: Reloaded (with Stuey Rock)

2012 – Astronaut Status

2013 – FBG: The Movie

2013 – First Class Fights

2013 – Black Woodstock (with DJ Esco)

2013 – Notice Me

2013 – Mexican Lingo

2013 – No Sleep (with DJ Esco)

2014 – Monster

2015 – Beast Mode (with Zaytoven)

2015 – 56 Nights (with DJ Esco)

2015 – What a Time to Be Alive (with Drake)

2016 – Purple Reign

2017 – Super Slimey (with Young Thug)

2018 – Beast Mode 2 (with Zaytoven)

2018 – WRLD on Drugs (with Juice WRLD)

Future FAQs

Sources:

• Allmusic
• Wiki
• Timeout
• Forbes
• DJ Booth
• Complex
• Distractify
• Yahoo
• Hip Hop DX
• Wealthy Gorill