The first time most people heard Future was
on "Racks," an out-of-nowhere 2011 hit that saddled him alongside
another local newcomer, YC. As catchy as it was unremarkable, the song
marked a transitional moment for Atlanta hip-hop, caught between Travis
Porter swag-rap sing-alongs and the heavier, Mike Will–driven trap that
would soon dominate pop radio.
One month later, Future's first solo single arrived: "Tony
Montana," whose hook Future delivered in an endearingly terrible Pacino
impression. Meanwhile in Atlanta, a grassroots fanbase had latched onto
his mixtapes — Dirty Sprite, rough but with moments of brilliance; and
the grimy, triumphant True Story. A deal with Epic followed, resulting
in Future's biggest look yet: an official "Tony Montana" remix featuring
none other than Drake, fellow explorer of the expanding gray area
between rapping and singing.
Despite his
growing buzz, no one really expected Future's first album to be what it
was — namely, one of the best major-label rap debuts this side of the
2010s. Pluto balanced staccato trap bangers like "Same Damn Time" with
syrupy android love songs like "Turn on the Lights."
The
singing was better than the rapping and the hooks were better than the
verses, but the vast majority of the tracks still hold up. "You Deserve
It" is an ecstatic Nard & B and DJ Spinz production on which Future
used a congratulatory phone call from his cousin as a benchmark for his
success. "My cousin called me from Savannah State on the day I made the
song," he tells Meaghan Garvey, instantly inhabiting the memory.
"She
was like, ‘Everybody down here talking 'bout you, cuz! You deserve it!'
And it just touched me, 'cause she saw all my hard work. She knew how
my grandma used to be mad at me for the police showing up at our house.
She knew people used to be like, ‘Your cousin's walking dead.' So she
was just like, finally — some good talk about you."
During
the period that followed — from 2013 to his second album, Honest —
Future released a constant stream of singles, collaborative mixtapes,
and dozens of features, buried among which are some of the best songs of
his career.
His collaborators spanned
from chart-toppers (Drake, Miley) to day-ones like Young Scooter and
Casino. He experimented wildly with new flows and melodies: pummeling
vocal contortions like "Sh!t" one day, poignant ballads like "Honest"
the next.
There were new alter egos, creating distinction
between his fluctuating moods and approaches: Future Hendrix, the
muse-driven rock star; Super Future, the tunnel-visioned hitmaker whose
world revolved around the studio; Fire Marshal Future, the unruly
party-starter who booked concert venues well over capacity. He was
moving in 10 directions at once, and mastering all of them.
In
the midst of it all, Future had met Ciara, the Juliet to his Romeo. He
moved with her to Los Angeles, replaced his studded leather jackets with
designer peacoats, and cowrote 2013's "Body Party," her sexiest single
to date.
Soon they were engaged, and Ciara was pregnant with
their child, known these days as "baby Future." But three months after
baby Future was born in 2014, Future and Ciara had reportedly split.
Future is the international act at the MTV Africa Music Awards on 22 October 2016.
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