Harold Michael Simmons II (born September 17, 1988), better known
by his stage name Future the Artist (also known as Future the Unknown,
formerly known as Future), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter,
and record producer, best known for his singles "Ballin'",
and "Rainin' Money" and his high top fade haircut. He recently
changed his artist name from Future to Future the Artist due to "Tony
Montana" performer Future ATL.
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]
[edit] Career
[edit] Biscuits and Gravy
In 2006 at age 17, Future the Artist 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]
[edit] Solo career
In April 2009 Future the Artist 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 the Artist
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 the Aritst 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 the Artist began traveling and recording his next
project.[22] After graduating college in May 2011, Future the Artist
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 and
E! reality show Khloé & Lamar.
[edit] Name Change
In January 2012, he officially changed his artist name from "Future"
to "Future the Artist" due to recent confusion with the
upcoming Atlanta rapper Future ATL ("Tony Montana"). He
announced the change via his Twitter account [27] and credits journalists
John Gotty (The Smoking Section) and Kathy Iandoli (HipHopDX/MTV/etc)
for inspiring the change.[28] [29]
[edit] Awards
2007 Southern Entertainment Award Nominee w/ Biscuits and Gravy
(Best Indy R&B Artist)
2009 Nashville Music Award Nominee (Best Urban Recording of the Year)
[30]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Mixtapes
Clean Cut Mixtape Vol. 1 (2006)
Foreplay: The Mixtape (2007)
The $FR33.99 Mixtape (2009)
The Sci Fly EP (2009)
The Overnight Mixtape Vol. 1-6 (2009)
[edit] Singles
"Ballin'" (2011)
"Rainin' Money" (2011)
"Street Life" w/ Wick-it the Instigator (2011)
"In the Morning" (To be released)