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Music

I Lied to Future About Being a Dad In Order to Talk to Him About Fatherhood

I'm so sorry, Future.

Getting artists to say interesting things to you during an interview can be a challenge. Most “real artists,” regardless of the medium, prefer letting their art answer any questions people have about their personal lives. That’s the reason those people make art: to express themes, feelings, and emotions with something more than just words, and so they don’t have to talk to you. Nobody wants to verbally deconstruct something they’ve poured their heart into and explain it to some idiot with a voice recorder. Which is why, as an idiot with a voice recorder, sometimes you have to get shamefully creative have a real conversation with someone. It’s not enough to walk into an interview with a list of prepared questions about what it’s like to work with Mike Will, or what his thoughts are about Young Thug. To truly forge a connection with an artist and get them to open up to you, you need to do more than just ask some bullshit questions that they’ve already fielded dozens, if not hundreds, of times. To get real responses, you need to get creative. And that’s why I had to lie to Future about how I was going to be a dad.

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During a stop in Toronto for his Honest tour, I sat down with the Atlanta superstar to talk to him about the things currently happening in his life, one of the big ones being the fact that he had recently become a father for the fourth time, bringing Future Zahir Wilburn into the world with his wife, Ciara Harris. Understandably, Future’s answers about fatherhood were political and clipped, leaving me with very little in regards to useable material. Because I have no shame, I lied to Future, and told him that I was expecting my own bundle of joy in the coming months, asking him for any advice he may have, from one father to another, “soon-to-be” father. Instantly, his eyes lit up with joy. He congratulated me on my “success” and opened up about his parenting style and advice. Did I intentionally mislead Future in order to elicit real emotion from him? Yes. Was it a shitty thing to do? Yes. Will Karma lead me to accidentally impregnating someone as a result of my deceit? Probably. You shouldn’t lie to rappers, or anyone for that matter, but especially not to people you admire. I’m sorry, Future.

Noisey: How did that Little Dragon remix come about?
Future: That was an unexpected collaboration. Nosaj Thing reached out to me and Little Dragon, and I respect both of them. I listen to their music a lot, and then when we went into the studio, it was a great vibe with those guys. I’m glad to be apart of that remix. Little Dragon was by far one of the most unexpected collaborations I’ve been a part of. Even for me, it was unexpected.

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What’s your favourite Future ad-lib?
My favorite is ‘turn-up turn-up’ and also ‘yeeah-yeeah,’ because that’s the original.

What’s it like being a dad for the fourth time?
It’s cool.

What kind of difference does Baby Future make in your life?
Everything is different.

Actually, I recently found out that I’m going to be a father myself. Do you have any advice for what I can expect?
Oh man, congratulations! It’s going to be dope. You’re going to be sitting down, looking at your baby for hours, just mesmerized, because its a new life! You get to see yourself as a baby again. When you’re just there in the house, there’s moments you have by yourself. You’re looking that them sleep, and play, and the first time they open their eyes, and all their smiles. It’s unreal to see yourself again and just know that you can show the baby all these little steps. From when they start walking, when they start saying daddy, or at least when you try to make them start saying daddy. You walk in and keep saying ‘da-da’ so they’ll do it.

It’s an experience that you have to experience for yourself. There’s nothing I can do to tell you to prepare you for it. When it happens, everyone handles it different. You might not want to go to work, but you have to go to work. If anything, it makes you want to work harder. It drives you to work harder, and you can’t stop working because it’s like ‘I can’t let my son or daughter to go through things I went through.’ I dont want them to feel or experience the stuff I went through. you’re going to have those emotions going through you, making sure you guide them in the right direction, and it takes hard work to be there.

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How did Baby Future change things for you?
Future changed things because everything is about him now. He was born a superstar. From the images that come out about him, everything is super on point. Everything needs to be laid out. I want to be able to set him with someone to go to the park, but you have send security with him. He has his own security guard. That’s his destined lifestyle. His mom’s a superstar, I’m a superstar. The balance of that, you need to teach him and give him guidelines with set rules, but also let him be a kid.

Is it hard to balance tour life with having a newborn?
I facetime him every single day. He knows how to look at the screen. We facetime so much, I think about it every single day. I want to be with my kid. Me being away makes me realize that I have to be there. I can’t keep repeating the same thing, cause it will let my work get in the way of my relationship. I’m at the stage where I’m just beginning to understand how to be a father. My oldest son is 12 now, and everyone is around each other, and they know each other and get along.

What would you have named him if it weren’t ‘Future’?
We knew his name was going to be Future about two months before he was born. The alternative name was gonna be Nayvadius. But one of my other sons has the middle name Nayvadius, so I want to give them their own identities. I don’t want everyone to have the same name. It was actually his mom’s decision, to give him a part of me.

What would you do if Future said he wanted to become a rapper?
I would support Future if he wanted to be a rapper, but I don’t want him to be a rapper though. I don’t want anything specific, I just want him to be successful, whatever he chooses to do. I’m going to teach him to work hard, stay dedicated, and learn how to focus on one thing — not just jump all over the place. Just be focused, and successful. Thats all you can wish for your kids, success.

Slava is probably going to be a dad soon, because karma is a bitch - @SlavaP

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