Earlier this month, Atlanta rapper Future began his monster of a press run in anticipation for the release of his third album, DS2. From his entry in 2011, with the original Dirty Sprite mixtape and his breakout feature on YC's "Racks" that same year, the Freebandz founder has continued on, rocketing past quite a few people he started out with. These are the things we know.

Still, within a week's time, Future fans have potentially learned more than they ever knew about the rhymer. From his creative differences with his ex-fiancee Ciara to the intricacies of the cost of fame and success, the usually reserved artist opened up in the documentary Like I Never Left. And one of the more celebratory facts about Future Hendrix is that he earned his first No. 1 Billboard 200 album with the release of DS2, selling 147,000 copies in its first week.

You may know all about his past romances, some of his accomplishments and his up-and-down relationship with a certain Toronto MC but at The Boombox, we can guarantee that you don't know everything about the 31-year-old rapper. In fact we have more than a few details to keep you informed. Check out 25 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Future.

  • 1

    Future says that he loves spoken word and always has -- it's the reason he put Big Rube on the 'Honest' LP. "Big Rube's super dope," he told NPR in 2014. "Now I'm superstitious. I can't do a album without him. Because OutKast, they didn't do an album without him, so, I was like, man, they started it, now I gotta finish it since they not putting an album out in 10 years."

  • 2

    Born Nayvadius Wilburn, Future changed his last name to Cash while running the streets so that if anything was to happen to him on the illegal tip, the police would be pinning the crime to the wrong name.

  • 3

    The rapper calls his studio the Batcave because it's all black with a black gate and tucked away in seclusion.

  • 4

    Future calls his body of work "astronaut music" because "it takes an astronaut so long to get to space – that's how long it takes to catch up on my music."

  • 5

    The self-described wizard dedicated his '56 Nights' mixtape to his DJ Esco. In late 2014, the pair traveled to the United Arab Emirates, but Future was the only one who made it back. Esco had to spend 56 nights in a Dubai jail.

  • 6

    Future Hive members will be surprised to learn his original rap moniker was Meathead aka The Future. Rocko, a fellow rapper of "U.O.E.N.O." fame, signed him to his label, A-1 Recordings, and insisted he drop the "Meathead" part of his name. Fun fact: the "F" in "Future" was once spelled with a "P."

  • 7

    He spent a lot of time at his great-aunt's house growing up. His mother raised him on her own, working as a 911 operator and she would leave him there during her shifts -- but it was a trap house. "I had multiple aunties, I had multiple uncles, that was on drugs," he told Rolling Stone. "When you grow up in something, you don't even know if it's bad or good. You just know that's how it is."

  • 8

    Who grinds harder than the Freebandz founder? In 2014, Future admitted to Rolling Stone that he's usually "in the lab" for up to 20 hours daily.

  • 9

    Long before you and your crew had even heard of Future, he was earning checks for lyrics. In 2004, he contributed to Ludacris' "Blueberry Yum Yum" from his 'Red Light District' LP.

  • 10

    In 2012, Future told Spin that his choice in music while growing up was pretty much whatever his mom was tuned in to. But when she wasn't paying attention, he'd switch it up. "I used to sneak and listen to Too $hort."

  • 11

    Although his music is flashy, Future keeps a low profile with his look. In 2014, he told GQ that his top three clothing items were some pretty basic go-tos. "I gotta have my long trench coats, a nice scarf for the winter time when you’re walking around, and some nice fitted jeans to go with the trench coats."

  • 12

    He needed to "balance his lifestyle out" just before he met Ciara. He told Angie Martinez that every woman in his life was mad when he announced their relationship. "Even the 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. girls was turnt! I was like, 'How you mad? I only see you when it's dark outside and there are other girls in the room with you!'"

  • 13

    The 31-year-old, who sometimes goes by Future Hendrix, told Elle that he is wildly inspired by Jimi Hendrix -- duh. "Man, just for being able to take a risk and for being able to step outside his comfort zone. For just being a black artist in rock n' roll and be able to step outside and create, and make great music. And just be different. Just a different breed. And that's what I love about Jimi Hendrix's music—the way he plays the guitar is so different. He's just an icon all around."

  • 14

    The 'Dirty Sprite' creator says that his mother was the only person in his family that was on the straight and narrow. "I grew up in a house where there were drug dealers you could look right at and they are your uncles. They've been to jail, your grandma done been to jail... Your granddaddy a hustler. Only person good was my mama and she tried to clean me up."

  • 15

    As a teenager, Future was shot in his hand while running the streets. "But I was a beast after that, living by the day... I was like an animal, ain't had no love for nobody."

  • 16

    He fancies pop stars. Future is a fan of Lady Gaga. In a 2012 interview with The Washington Post, he revealed he likes to watch concert footage of her performing.

  • 17

    Future told Sway's Universe that he and Drake were working one night in the studio going through beats and he kept telling the engineer to "start it from the bottom, just over and over again. That's how Drake came up with it ['Started From the Bottom']."

  • 18

    In 2014, the 'Monster' creator told Sway's Universe that if he and Ciara were considering having a threesome it would be with Jennifer Lopez.

  • 19

    Each verse in 2011's "Long Time Coming" is dedicated to an ex-girlfriend who had been encouraging him since his start.

  • 20

    Although his music is full of energy, the Freebandz general is actually pretty reserved -- especially before he performs. He stays to himself. Before his Fader Fort appearance in 2013, he told Billboard there's a method to the madness: "I wanna do what I came here for. Sometimes at a show, it’s so much politics, you could kill the green room and not the show."

  • 21

    Detail, who produced Beyonce's "Drunk in Love," convinced Future to record a demo using the same melodies, which became the song "Good Morning." It was originally on his 'Honest' album, but when Beyonce dropped her surprise LP in 2013, he cut it from his record.

  • 22

    No one ever calls him by his real name, Nayvadius, which he says is actually Greek for "king."

  • 23

    The "Racks" melody was something that he'd already had in his head to fit another beat before it eventually became the track we know of today.

  • 24

    The Atlanta rapper was done with his sophomore album 'Honest' for at least two years before its release. In 2012, he told Billboard that it was already done in his head. "I have small elements of the music. It's like a building, the structure of the music, so I might have the shell, a beat, a hook, a melody that I just put on the beat. I may have a beat in mind and I already know what I'ma put on that beat. I have all those thoughts in my head, it's just about putting it together. Like a puzzle."

  • 25

    He's more than the average "hook" guy. "I'm the master of music, period. I feel like nobody in music can do what I do. The only people who can do what I do are from my camp and that's [Andre] 3000 and CeeLo," he told Billboard.

  • Bonus

    See 50 Inspirational Quotes From Your Favorite Rappers

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