FUTURE

Renowned for his singularly flowing melodic phrasing laced with mumbled inflections, the chart-dominating rapper Future burst onto the national stage from the South at the outset of the 2010s. A rapid succession of mixtapes, albums that climbed high on the charts, platinum-certified singles, and featured turns on other major tracks propelled his ascent, after which he maintained both commercial supremacy and inventive momentum in subsequent years. His breakthrough arrived through a guest appearance on YC's "Racks" in 2011, whereupon he emerged as a central force behind Atlanta's hold on Billboard rankings, routinely bolstered by production from fellow ATL natives and residents including Metro Boomin, Mike WiLL Made-It, Sonny Digital, and Southside. By the close of 2017 he had tallied 32 Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hits in lead and supporting roles alike. In parallel, eleven full-length projects, among them a platinum-certified sequence of DS2 (2015), Evol (2016), and Future (2017), all entered the Billboard 200's upper five positions. He closed out the 2010s by extending his Top 20 count with the Grammy-winning "King's Dead," serving as co-producer on a Super Fly remake, and returning to the Billboard 200 summit via The Wizrd (2019). Further ascents to the top followed with releases such as High Off Life (2020), the 2024 pair WE DON'T TRUST YOU and WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU alongside Metro Boomin, and Mixtape Pluto (2024).

Born Nayvadius Wilburn, Future was raised in Atlanta's Zone 6 district and carried ties to the city's Dungeon Family collective, which bestowed upon him the nickname "the Future." Under the guidance of his cousin and fellow Dungeon Family affiliate Rico Wade of Organized Noize, he issued his earliest mixtapes in 2010 and the first months of 2011, positioning him for a broad commercial launch. Several months after the January 2011 drop of his third mixtape, he appeared on YC's "Racks," a track that climbed to the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Soon afterward Epic Records signed him, and his first official single "Tony Montana" reached just shy of the Top 20. Its accompanying album Pluto arrived the next April, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and propelled by the number-two R&B/hip-hop single "Turn on the Lights," which secured Future's initial RIAA platinum certification. Although no new studio albums appeared in 2013, he stayed active as a guest performer, contributing to four Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hits that attained gold or platinum status: Lil Wayne's "Love Me," Ace Hood's "Bugatti," Rich Gang's "Tapout," and Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O." He also joined a remix of Ciara's "Body Party"; the two became engaged that October.

Future's second studio album Honest arrived in April 2014, earning both critical praise and strong sales while peaking at number two. Two of its singles, "Move That Dope" (featuring Pharrell, Pusha T, and Casino) and "I Won" (co-produced by frequent collaborator Metro Boomin and featuring Kanye West), reached gold status. Several months later Future and Ciara's separation became public. Late 2014 and early 2015 yielded three mixtapes plus the hit single "Fuck Up Some Commas," setting the stage for the third album DS2, which debuted at number one in July 2015. Only two months afterward the Drake collaboration What a Time to Be Alive, issued as a mixtape, likewise claimed the top spot.

Early in 2016 Future surprise-released Evol, which nonetheless entered at number one on the Billboard 200; its single "Low Life," a collaboration with the Weeknd, quickly achieved double-platinum standing. That November he delivered another Drake-assisted hit, "Used to This," from the Beast Mode 16 mixtape. The momentum persisted into 2017 with consecutive full-lengths Future and HNDRXX. Dropping in successive weeks that February, both kept his number-one streak alive, while the former, containing the Top Ten pop hit "Mask Off," marked his third straight platinum solo album. Later that year he joined Ty Dolla $ign's "Don't Judge Me" with Swae Lee and issued Super Slimey, a joint project with Young Thug.

In 2018 Future contributed to two soundtracks. He first teamed with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and James Blake on the Black Panther soundtrack single "King's Dead," then supplied "No Shame" for Superfly, which he also presented and helped co-produce. Opening 2019, his seventh album The Wizrd became his fifth solo chart-topper (and sixth overall); it included appearances by Young Thug and Gunna, while Travis Scott featured on one of its three charting singles, "First Off." Less than a month after the album's arrival, Future received a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for his part in "King's Dead." He closed the year with the darker, more introspective seven-track EP Save Me, which reached number five.

He opened the new decade in January 2020 with another Drake collaboration, "Life Is Good." The single became his second Top Ten pop hit as lead artist and attained quadruple-platinum certification by the time High Off Life arrived in May. Originally planned under the hit's title, the project received a different name amid the COVID-19 pandemic; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Subsequent singles included "Tycoon" and "Trillionaire," the latter featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Before year's end Future joined Lil Uzi Vert for the collaborative album Pluto x Baby Pluto, which debuted at number two in November 2020.

Future kept a lower profile through 2021 yet resurfaced in 2022 with his ninth solo LP I NEVER LIKED YOU, which again led the U.S. charts. The 2024 release WE DON'T TRUST YOU, his first full-length co-billed with longtime producer Metro Boomin, also topped the charts. Three weeks later came the separate album WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU, not a deluxe edition of the prior collaboration, which likewise reached number one. The feature-free Mixtape Pluto then became Future's third chart-topping project of 2024.