Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn was born in Atlanta, Georgia of Haitian parents. His name is now changed legally from Nayvadius Wilburn to Nayvadius Cash. The change was made when Future was running the streets so that the police would be pinning any crimes they thought he'd committed to the wrong name.
His stage name came about after members of the musical collective The Dungeon Family called him "The Future."
No one ever calls Future now by his real name, Nayvadius, which he says is Greek for "king."
Future was raised by his mom alone. She worked as a 911 operator and would leave him at his great-aunt's house during her shifts, which as he grew older he came to realize was a trap house. "I had multiple aunties, I had multiple uncles, that was on drugs," Future told Rolling Stone. "When you grow up in something, you don't even know if it's bad or good. You just know that's how it is."
His first cousin is producer Rico Wade of the Dungeon Family. The collective have produced hits for such groups as OutKast and Goodie Mob; Wade was able to provide the support for Future in his early days as an MC, which led to his debut hit on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, "Watch This."
In 2011 Future had his first mainstream chart success when he wrote and sung the chorus of YC's hit single "
Racks." He recalled to
Ozone Magazine: "We actually went in the studio together, didn't nobody have no pen, no paper, no nothing. We both put our heads together and came up with everything."
Future signed a major-label deal with Epic Records and fellow Atlanta rapper Rocko's A1 Recordings, in September 2011. They helped launch Future's own label imprint, Freebandz.
His original rap name was Meathead aka The Future. When Rocko signed him to A1 Recordings, he insisted he drop the "Meathead" part of his moniker.
"
Magic" became Future's first Hot 100 hit as a lead artist when it debuted on the chart dated March 17, 2012.
Future's third album, DS2, released in July 2015, earned him his first #1 on the Billboard 200.
One of his alter egos is "Astronaut Kid" as he's always been infatuated with space through music. Future told Spin: "I felt like I made timeless music. It was something new - nobody really ever touched on space. It was something to keep the people interested, give the fans something new. [To] have the same wordplay, but be in space."
Another name that Future sometimes goes by is "Future Hendrix." He compares himself to Jimi Hendrix in the intro to "
Commas" when he spits: "Future Hendrix, it's some s--t you don't do."
Future has been fan of the rock star for some time. He told
Elle: "Man, just for being able to take a risk and for being able to step outside his comfort zone. For just being a black artist in rock n' roll and be able to step outside and create, and make great music. And just be different. Just a different breed. And that's what I love about Jimi Hendrix's music - the way he plays the guitar is so different. He's just an icon all around."
Future has fathered four children with four different women: Jessica Smith, Brittni Mealy, India J, and singer Ciara. He got engaged to Ciara in October 2013 but she called off the engagement ten months later.
Future is notorious for the frequency of his references to using pills and lean in his rhymes. The Atlanta MC claimed to French outlet Clique TV in 2016 that he is not a drug addict and instead he raps about pharmaceutical substances to help sell his music. "I feel like that's the number one thing everybody likes to talk about," Future said. "It's a catch."
Future is the first artist to amass over 10 million followers on SoundCloud. He achieved the milestone in the last week of December 2021.
