Future Future, Future Hndrxx
Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn was born on November 20, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia. He began using his stage name while performing as one of the members of the musical collective The Dungeon Family, where he was nicknamed "The Future". His first cousin, record producer, and Dungeon Family member Rico Wade, encouraged him to sharpen his writing skills and pursue a career as a rapper. He attended Columbia High School. Future voices his praise of Wade's musical influence and instruction, calling him the "mastermind" behind his sound. He soon came under the wing of Atlanta's own Rocko (4) who signed him to his label A1 Recordings. Since then his work ethic has driven him to his success. From 2010 to early 2011, Future released a series of mixtapes including 1000, Dirty Sprite and True Story. The latter included the single Tony Montana, in reference to the Scarface film. During that time, Future was also partnering with rapper Gucci Mane on their collaborative album Free Bricks, and co-wrote YC's single Racks. He gained popularity after his songs were played by DJ Esco at Magic City, a strip club in Atlanta deemed "largely responsible for launching the careers of artists." He is also the cousin of Organized Noize's Rico Wade.