Future Didn’t Want to Tell His Fans He Quit Lean at First

In an interview with Genius, Future says it was hard to tell fans he quit drinking lean because they’re used to him being a certain type of way.

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As Super Future gears up for the release of his The WIZRD album on Friday (Jan. 18), the Atlanta icon sat down for a rare interview on Genius' latest installment of For The Record

In the nearly 20-minute converstation, Future offers insight into his shielded creative process and the weight his superstardom has had on his personal life. The vulerability begins almost immediately. Even before the graphics hit the screen, Future begins to talk about quitting lean and how straying away from the drug that helped build his brand has impacted his celebrity. 

"I don't want to tell nobody I stopped drinking lean," Future confided to Genius' Rob Markman at the 12:12 mark. "I didn't want to tell them because I felt like then they was going to be like 'oh, his music changed because he ain't drinking lean no more.' Or, 'I can hear it when he changing.' And people be like 'Damn, why don't you even say it?' But it's hard when your fans are used to you being a certain type of way."

Future's shocking revelation adds him to the likes of G Herbo, Mozzy, and several other rappers who have decided to kick the cup and quit drinking lean. This includes artists that have also built their career on detailing the affects of substance abuse like Lil Xan

Future's sincerity continued throughout the video and is most evident when the rapper reminisces on the death of his best friend and longtime engineer Seth Firkins.

"It hasn't changed my process," Future said in response to if the passing Firkins has impacted the way he records. "But it has made me want to go harder... just looking over and not seeing him to the right of me — I was always to the left and he was on the right — still the only thing that gets to me to this day. But, besided that, I just keep recording."

Aside from the more serious topics, the interview is sprinkled with lighthearted antidotes like how Future created his now-infamous verse on "King's Dead."

"When I did it, I had did another verse and at then at the end I did the 'la di da di' part. But that was my favorite part, but I was just bullshittin'. Just playing around. So I did a verse for the song then I just did that at the end in case they wanted to keep it as like and outro or something," Future explained. "That's the part I didn't even do in the verse. I left it at the end of the song."

You can watch the full interview above, which has Future's response to André 3000 praising him in The WIZRD documentary and where he plans to take his sound next.

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