Chart-topping and influential rapper Future is known for a uniquely fluid and melodic yet mumbling vocal style. He busted out of the South at the dawn of the 2010s with a flurry of mixtapes, high-charting albums, certified platinum singles, and contributions to several other hits as a featured artist, then continued to hover at the top of his game, both commercially and creatively, in the years that followed. After he scored his first hit via a guest spot on YC's "Racks" (2011), Future quickly became a key factor in Atlanta's grip on the Billboard charts, often with production support from fellow ATL natives and dwellers such as Metro Boomin, Mike WiLL Made-It, Sonny Digital, and Southside. By the end of 2017, Future had amassed 32 Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hits as a headliner and featured artist. Meanwhile, 11 full-length projects -- including an all-platinum run of DS2 (2015), Evol (2016), and Future (2017) -- debuted within the Top Five of the Billboard 200. Future capped off the 2010s by adding to his Top 20 tally with the Grammy-winning "King's Dead," co-producing a remake of Super Fly, and hitting the top of the Billboard 200 again with The Wizrd (2019). He has since returned to the throne with High Off Life (2020), I NEVER LIKED YOU (2022), and WE DON'T TRUST YOU/WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU (with Metro Boomin, 2024).

Born Nayvadius Wilburn, Future grew up in his city's Zone 6 section with roots in the ATL's Dungeon Family, who dubbed him "the Future." Mentored by cousin and fellow Dungeon Family member Rico Wade of the revered Organized Noize, Future released his first mixtapes in 2010 and early 2011, which left him poised for a mainstream breakthrough. A few months after the January 2011 release of his third mixtape, Future was featured on YC's "Racks," a single that bubbled up to the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Shortly thereafter, the rapper signed with major label Epic, and "Tony Montana," his proper debut single, subsequently peaked just outside the Top 20. Its parent album, Pluto, landed the following April and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, supported by the number two R&B/hip-hop hit "Turn on the Lights," which earned Future his first RIAA platinum certification. No new studio albums were released in 2013, but Future's year was productive as a guest artist. He appeared on four Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hits that went either gold or platinum: Lil Wayne's "Love Me," Ace Hood's "Bugatti," Rich Gang's "Tapout," and Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O." He also appeared on a remix of "Body Party" by Ciara, who became his fiancée that October.

Future's second full-length album, Honest, was issued in April 2014. It earned both critical acclaim and popular success and peaked at number two. Two singles from the album, "Move That Dope" (featuring Pharrell, Pusha T, and Casino) and "I Won" (co-produced by frequent collaborator Metro Boomin and featuring Kanye West), went gold. A few months after the album's release, Future and Ciara's split was made public. Late 2014 and early 2015 brought three mixtapes and another hit single, "Fuck Up Some Commas." They primed Future fans for third album DS2, which debuted at number one in July 2015. Only two months later, What a Time to Be Alive, a mixtape collaboration with Drake, reached the same spot.

In early 2016, Future released Evol, which arrived unannounced but still debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Its single "Low Life," a collaboration with the Weeknd, quickly went double platinum. In November of that year, Future issued another Drake-assisted hit, "Used to This," from his Beast Mode 16 mixtape. The roll continued through 2017 with a pair of full-lengths, Future and HNDRXX. Issued during consecutive weeks that February, the two albums kept Future's streak of number ones intact, while the former, featuring the Top Ten pop hit "Mask Off," became the rapper's third consecutive platinum solo full-length. Later that year, he hopped onto Ty Dolla $ign's "Don't Judge Me" with Swae Lee before issuing Super Slimey, a joint effort with Young Thug.

Future followed with a pair of soundtrack contributions in 2018. First, he joined Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and James Blake for a hit single from the Black Panther soundtrack, "King's Dead," and a few months later released "No Shame" from Superfly. He not only contributed to the soundtrack but presented it as well, and was among the film's co-producers. Future started 2019 with the release of his seventh album, The Wizrd, which became his fifth solo chart-topper (and sixth overall). The set featured appearances by Young Thug and Gunna, while Travis Scott assisted "First Off," one of its three charting singles. Less than a month after the release of that album, Future won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for his contribution to "King's Dead." He returned later in 2019 with the darker and more pained Save Me, a seven-track EP that reached number five.

Future got an early start on the new decade in January 2020 with "Life Is Good," another Drake collaboration. The single became his second Top Ten pop hit as a headliner and reached quadruple-platinum status by the time he issued High Off Life in May. Originally intended to be titled after the preceding hit -- Future opted to go with a less contentious title due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- High Off Life entered the Billboard 200 at number one. Among its follow-up singles were "Tycoon" and "Trillionaire," the latter featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Before the year was over, Future teamed up with Lil Uzi Vert for the collaborative album Pluto x Baby Pluto. The record was released in November 2020 and debuted at number two on the Billboard chart. Future remained relatively quiet in 2021, but he returned in 2022 for ninth solo LP I NEVER LIKED YOU, which once again topped the U.S. charts. WE DON'T TRUST YOU, Future's first album co-billed with longtime producer Metro Boomin, appeared in 2024, and was another chart-topping success. Three weeks after it was released, it was followed by WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU, a distinct album and not a deluxe edition of the first collaboration. Once again, it reached number one. ~ David Jeffries & Andy Kellman

St. Louis-raised, Atlanta-based producer Metro Boomin is the master of a street-oriented sound that is jet-black and low-gloss, sufficiently reflected in his alias. Within five years of his first output with Future, he amassed well over a dozen Top 20 R&B/hip-hop hits and a similar quantity of gold and platinum RIAA certifications. Since his early half-decade roll of success working with the likes of Future, iLoveMakonnen, Drake, Migos, and Post Malone -- with "Honest," "Tuesday," "Jumpman," "Bad and Boujee," and "Congratulations" among his biggest hits -- Metro has remained a marquee name. He crowned the Billboard 200 with Not All Heroes Wear Capes (2018), his first solo album, and made return trips to the top spot with Savage Mode II (a 2020 duo LP with 21 Savage) and his Grammy-nominated sophomore set, Heroes & Villains (2022). He branched out to film in 2023, helming the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. WE DON'T TRUST YOU and WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU, his first two full albums co-billed with Future, topped the charts in 2024.

Metro Boomin got into production during his early teens and also rapped, though he eventually opted to devote all his energy to beatmaking. He connected with artists through social media, and prior to graduating high school, he'd logged thousands of miles on round trips to Atlanta, where he worked with the likes of OJ da Juiceman and, eventually, Gucci Mane and Future. Metro fulfilled his mother's dream with his acceptance to the conveniently located Morehouse College, but he dropped out and invested more in making music than in studying business management.

In 2013, Metro's name was on Billboard charts for the first time as the producer of Future's "Karate Chop" and "Honest." Just after the latter single was officially released, he self-released 19 & Boomin. Once iLoveMakonnen's "Tuesday," another early triumph, hit the R&B/hip-hop Top Ten the following year, Metro was a constant presence near the top of that chart. Drake and Future's "Jumpman" and Future's "Low Life" were among the early 2016 hits, followed later in the year by "X" -- taken from Savage Mode, his self-released EP made with 21 Savage -- and Migos' "Bad and Boujee," which eventually topped the R&B/hip-hop and pop charts.

Among Metro Boomin's subsequent hits throughout a notable 2017 were Big Sean's "Bounce Back," Post Malone's "Congratulations," Kodak Black's "Tunnel Vision," and Future's "Mask Off." The year remained a busy one, as Metro later released a trio of collaborative mixtapes: Perfect Timing (with NAV), Without Warning (with Offset and 21 Savage), and Double or Nothing (Big Sean). The following year brought even more success for Metro, not only for his input on notable albums by Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne but also for his own project, Not All Heroes Wear Capes. The album topped the Billboard 200 upon release in November 2018 and yielded a pair of platinum singles with "No Complaints," featuring Offset and Drake, and "Space Cadet," on which Metro was joined by Gunna.

In 2020, Metro Boomin resumed his partnership with 21 Savage and delivered another Billboard 200 topper, Savage Mode II. Four of its tracks, including "Glock in My Lap," hit the Top 40. Metro scored a third Billboard 200 album in 2022 with his sophomore album, Heroes & Villains. The set contained another quartet of Top 40 entries, most notably the chart-topping platinum hit "Creepin'," a collaboration with the Weeknd and 21 Savage that interpolated Mario Winans' "I Don't Wanna Know." He kept the train of number ones rolling in 2023 with the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which arrived that June alongside the animated blockbuster. In addition to featuring the likes of Lil Wayne, Offset, Future, James Blake, and many more, the compilation also included the hit single "Calling" with Swae Lee, Nav, and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. Heroes & Villains received a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, while Metro Boomin himself was nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. After contributing heavily to 21 Savage's chart-topping 2024 album, American Dream, Metro Boomin teamed up with longtime collaborator Future for the full-length WE DON'T TRUST YOU. The album topped the Billboard 200 in its opening week, while the single "Like That" was also a number one hit. Three weeks after the album was released, it was followed by WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU, a distinct album and not a deluxe edition of the first collaboration. Once again, it reached number one. ~ Andy Kellman