Future enjoyed the best year of his relatively young career in 2015, notching two Billboard 200 number one albums and releasing hit after hit, solidifying his once-questioned status as not only a viable solo artist with considerable selling power, but a force to be reckoned with among the ranks of the new crop of rap stars that have emerged over the last few years. His chart-topping albums, DS2 and What A Time To Be Alive–the latter, a joint LP with Drake–helped him cultivate a cult-like fan base, chock full of people that found solace in his ballads–sometimes sung, sometimes rapped, often rap-sung–of drug binges, codeine-induced dreams, and the emotions those things evoked. Fans nationwide have sensationalized Future’s rampant perceived use of drugs, even dressing as his DS2 cover for Halloween (DS2 is short for Dirty Sprite 2, “dirty Sprite” being a slang term for what’s created when you pour cough syrup into soda).
In a new interview with Clique, however, Future qualifies his drug raps, somewhat unexpectedly admitting that the stories he tells in his music aren’t always exemplary of his actual lifestyle. Here’s an excerpt, taken from Watch Loud:
“I’m not like super drugged out or [a] drug addict. My music may portray a certain kind of image and I know it’s some people that might be super drugged out and they listen to the music like, ‘Ay thank you, you speaking for me’ and then some people that’s not [super drugged out] that feel like, “Man I don’t have to do drugs, I can listen to Future and feel like I’m on something’ and don’t have to try [drugs]. I don’t do it for you to really have to live that type of life.”
The interviewer then, understandably, prods Future about why he portrays himself as an addict, and Future simply responds:
“Yeah because I feel like that’s the number one thing everybody likes to talk about. It’s a catch.”
It’ll be interesting to see how this changes–if at all the Future conversation going forward, especially considering he’s expected to release multiple projects this year. Skip to the 24:00 mark in the interview above to see Future talk about his drug use.
