Rapper Future is a highly influential individual. He’s sold millions of records and helped to shift the scope of Hip-Hop culture. With the newer generation of rappers, he’s one that many up-and-coming talents model themselves after. However, while the rapper is aware that in the future (no pun intended), there will be a flock of new rappers who have been indeed affected by his infectious musical offerings and have looked up to him, Future doesn’t want to be considered a role model to anyone.
In 2022, GQ infamously labeled Future as the “Best Rapper Alive.” In his first Drink Champs interview, controversial rapper Kanye West insisted that the Atlanta rapper is the “most influential and important artist of the past ten years.” Additionally, Vulture stated in 2018 that Future was “one of the most important artists of this decade.” And while some on social media agreed to disagree, the Atlanta rapper’s track sheet embodies why he’s been given said titles.
Future himself has even spoken about his influence. Even if it were perhaps out of frustration, the Grammy Award-winning rapper took to Twitter in 2018 to address the newer rappers he claims to have “made.” He continued to write on social media that he was the “reason” for everything they’d accomplished. In addition, Future shared in one of his tweets, “I gracefully gave u a style to run with like it was your own. Thank me.”
But during a recent interview with Billboard, Future shared that he’s not ready to be viewed as a role model. However, he states that if he were to be “considered” as one, he would love for other people following in his footsteps to do things differently than he has. “The s**t that I do is one of one,” he said. “I don’t feel like nobody needs to be like me.” Future expressed that his belief is because of everything he’s experienced within his musical and personal life. “I’m the only one that can do this,” he said.
