Atlanta rapper Future is arguably the king of the new school, with some even calling him the godfather of mumble rap. His music gets mixed reviews in hip hop, with some loving him and others hating him. However, regardless of your opinion, it is undeniable that he has had great success since his career beginnings. With songs such as ‘Mask Off’ going nine times platinum, Future has been described as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
So with so many rating him and declaring him as their favourite rapper, it would be interesting to find out who his favourite rapper is. Well, in a 2011 interview with SOHH (Support Online Hip Hop) magazine, the ‘Tony Montana’ hitmaker did just that and name-dropped not one but two of his favourite rappers ever.
Hesitant at first to decide on a definite favourite, the Atlanta rapper declared, “My favourite rappers are, I can’t really say. I like Kanye because he’s so creative. He’ll just do anything. I like what Kanye [West]’s bringing to the game.” It’s no surprise that the rapper (real name Nayvadius Wilburn) enjoys the work of Kanye West. West was partially responsible for popularizing 808’s and autotune with his album 808s And Heartbreak. Songs such as ‘Love Lockdown’ and ‘Amazing’ featuring Young Jeezy really legitimised the use of melodic autotune in hip hop.
When asked if he had another favourite rapper, the ‘Mask Off’ creator disclosed, “Lil Wayne. I like Wayne..”. Another unsurprising selection from the rapper, Lil Wayne, is often cited as the first tycoon rapper to come out of the south. While cities such as New York, LA and Philadelphia were producing megastars during the 1990s, the south didn’t really have an artist who had reached the heights of, say a Snoop Dogg or a Jay-Z, only at the turn of the millennium did cities such as Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta start seeing their artists surpass the glass ceiling of fame that the south had during the 1990s. Lil Wayne, alongside artists such as Ludacris and 6 Tre G rose to fame as the child star of the south, quickly becoming the region’s ambassador. However, unlike Ludacris and others, Wayne’s career lasted for over two decades and had an empire attached to it.
Lil Wayne set the blueprint for a lot of the ‘Lils’ we see today. So those are Future’s two favourite rappers, the innovative, creative Kanye West and the most successful rapper out of the Dixies, Lil Wayne. You can listen to Future’s most acclaimed single ‘Mask Off’ in the video below.
