| Future | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Harold Michael Simmons II |
| Born | September 17, 1988 Gary, Indiana |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres | Hip Hop, Southern Rap, Pop |
| Occupations | Rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Sir Lazenby Productions |
| Website | www.futuretheartist.com |
Harold Michael Simmons II (born September 17, 1988), better known by his stage name Future (also known as Future the Artist[1] and Future the Unknown[2]), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known for his singles "Ballin'" and "Rainin' Money" and his high top fade haircut.[3]
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Simmons was born in Gary, Indiana on September 17, 1988. At the age of six, he won the city-wide speech contest and began gaining local popularity as a public speaker. He performed his speeches at various events, such as Mayor Scott L. King's campaign banquet and in Washington, D.C. on the steps of the Congress building concerning the National Deficit. At age eight, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee. In 2006, he graduated from Hume-Fogg High School , where he played alto saxophone in the jazz band [4] and volunteered for several local youth organizations. He then attended Belmont University, where he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, and graduated in 2011 from Belmont's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.[5]
In 2006 at age 17, Future and a few of his friends started a band called The Legendary Biscuits and Gravy, with him on lead vocals and alto saxophone, Eric Sexton on keyboard, Brandon Holt on drums, and Wesley Winfrey on tenor saxophone (bassist Brady Surface was later added).[6] The band quickly became a local favorite and received good reviews for their fusion of jazz, R&B, and Hip Hop and their high level of musicianship at their young ages.[7] In 2007 the band was nominated for the Southern Entertainment Awards Best Indy R&B Artist of the Year. In 2008 and 2009, the band performed for Next Big Nashville music festival alongside other nationally-recognized Nashville bands, like The Pink Spiders and Sam & Ruby,[8][9] and opened for Kanye West, GZA,[10] and Nappy Roots.[11]
In April 2009 Future released his first solo EP entitled The Sci Fly EP that he self-wrote and produced. It received good reviews for the electro-influence,[12] advanced lyricism and pop hooks,[13] and was nominated for a Nashville Music award for Best Urban Recording of the Year.[14] Between September and October 2009, Future began the Overnight Mixtape series, in which he recorded and released six mixtapes, recording each mixtape during an overnight studio session and releasing it for free download the next day.[15][16] The Nashville Scene spotlighted the Overnight Mixtapes in the 2009 Year in Music issue, stating that Future dominated the local underground hip hop scene.[17] Overnight Mixtape, Vol. 4 featured lives skits from Bun B and GLC.[18] Also during this time, Future did shows with Wale,[19] Pharrell,[20] Little Brother and Afroman.[21]
In 2010, Future began traveling and recording his next project.[22] After graduating college in May 2011, Future began releasing singles and videos with popular college music website GoodMusicAllDay [23][24][25] and has since been co-signed by other music websites such as MzHipHop and The Smoking Section.[26] He and Nashville rapper Chancellor Warhol's song "Bonus Lvl/Fly Away" was recently featured on the HBO Canada series Less Than Kind.
[[Category:Rappers from Georgia