Who is Future?: Future, born Nayvadius Wilburn, is a rapper from Atlanta. In fact, at the moment he's the rapper from Atlanta-the latest star to command the city's attention and (re)define its sound. Known for both his hard, percussive street rapping style and making emotional, melodic Auto-Tuned ballads, he has a broad appeal and a singular musical approach. After putting out a string of successful mixtapes over the course of two years, starting in 2010, he released his debut album, Pluto, in 2012. He caught the hip-hop world's attention and became a go-to feature guest as a result. His sophomore album, Honest, comes out today, April 22, after several months of having its release date pushed back. It's one of the most eagerly anticipated rap projects of the year.

What's his story?: Future's older cousin is Rico Wade, of the Atlanta collective Dungeon Family and its production crew Organized Noize, best known for launching OutKast. As a teenager, Future started hanging around the Dungeon Family studios and recording, under the name Meathead, as part of a Dungeon Family group called Da Connect. Throughout the early 2000s, he contributed as a songwriter to various projects for the Dungeon Family, and he eventually took on the name Future.

But his career stalled, and he turned back to a street lifestyle, selling drugs for several years. He eventually befriended the Atlanta rapper Rocko and worked his way back to music, putting out the mixtape 1000 in 2010. He followed that with several more successful mixtapes that built his reputation in Atlanta and eventually landed him a record deal with Epic. If it seems like a pretty long and incredible rise, Future agrees: From "Long Time Coming" to "You Deserve It" to "Against All Odds" to "Blood, Sweat, Tears," many of his best songs have to specifically with overcoming the odds and working hard, making him the perfect American hero.