A renowned name in the Rap industry, Future, is at the peak of his careers, releasing tracks featuring artists like Drake, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande and so many more. He’s known for his deep vocals, catchy beats and tongue-twisting lyrics that appeal to rap listeners worldwide.
But behind any successful man, is a history of hustle, struggle, and rise. Future wasn’t born into fame and fortune – made it for himself. Today, we’ll give you all the background you need to learn more about Future’s history of traveling rocky roads and going through tough storms to reach where he is today.
Who Is Future?
Born and bred in the city of Atlanta, Georgia on 20th November, 1983, Future is the stage name for the artistic prodigy – Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn. If you’re wondering “how old is future”, then at present, he’s 37 years old!
While he had always been passionate about music, it wasn’t until he was associated with The Dungeon Family during his high school journey that he considered music to be a pathway for his professional pursuit. Based on his talent, he earned the title “The Future” from The Dungeon Family, whose owner and producer, Rico Wade (Future’s cousin) helped Wilburn refine and polish his writing skills.
The Flight to Success – Career on the Rise
Pouring the experiences of street life into his lyrics, Future released a couple of mixtapes on several different music forums that helped him to garner public attention enough to make the industry recognize his skills and talent. Soon, he was offered a record label deal with Epic Records and Rocko’s A1 Recordings, which revolutionized the pace of his success. His debut album “Pluto,” which was released through A1 Recordings and Freebandz (Future’s own label), and distributed by Epic Records, featured major artists like Snoop Dogg, Juicy J, Drake and more. From this album, ‘Magic’ hit the Billboard Hot 100 charts, making it his first ever track to achieve that level of popularity. Right after this success, Future released his first ever ‘feature’ on Pusha T’s track, ‘Pain’.
With this success, Future’s label ‘Freebandz’ grew to be a significant name in the music industry, signing up artists like Mexico Rann, Young Scooter, Casino and more. He released another mixtape featuring Freebandz artists called, “F.B.G.: The Movie”, which achieved platinum-certified status and became one of the most popular mixtape on streaming platforms. With this success, Future release “Honest” – the second studio album, originally named “Future Hendrix” – in 2014, which had features from Rihanna, Jeremih, Drake, Kanye West and many other artists.
Between 2015-2016 – A New Era of the Rapper’s Reign
In 2015, along with Drake, Future dropped a mixtape named, “What a Time To Be Alive,” which was an immediate hit. The album topped the Billboard 200 charts along with Billboard R;B Charts and the Hot Rap Songs Chart. With this success, Future emerged as second to Jay Z rapper to achieve the top ranks on 2 album releases within a year! In the following year, Future dropped another mixtape, “Purple Reign”, in collaboration with the executive producers DJ Esco and Metro Boomin, along with Zaytoven and others. The same year, in 2016, he released his fourth album, “EVOL,” which again topped the Billboard 200 chart!
From 2017-Present: Ruling the World of Rap
In 2017, ushered a new era of success for the rapper as he released his fifth album, and soon after, premiered his sixth album “Hndrxx”. As both the albums ranked number one on the Bilboard 200, he became the first rapper ever to release two albums that topped the charts simultaneously!
In 2018, he collaborated on tracks for the movie, “Black Panther”, which received 2 Grammy nominations, and later developed the soundtrack for “Superfly.” The same year, he dropped another mixtape, “Wrld On Drugs” with Juice Wrld.
Come the next year, and Future premiered his seventh studio album, “Future Hndrxx Presents: The Wizrd,” which was again a success. The same year, he received his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, which marked another milestone in the artist’s career. Later in the year, he dropped “Save Me”, his solo EP, however, the EP wasn’t as well received as the previous albums.
In 2020, Future was back with creation and production, and released his eighth album, “High Off Life” and later in the year, premiered, “Pluto x Baby Pluto” in a joint effort with Lil Uzi Vert.
Future’s is notorious for his controversial personal life. But as an artist, he has clearly built himself from scratch, off of talent and hard work.