FYÜTCH
Background information
Birth name	Harold Michael Simmons II
Born	(1988-09-17) September 17, 1988 (age 24) Gary, Indiana
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Hip Hop, Southern Rap
Occupations	Rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Sir Lazenby Productions
Website	www.fyutch.com

Harold Michael Simmons II (born September 17, 1988), better known by his stage name FYÜTCH (also spelled FYUTCH)^[1] and Mr. Flattop (formerly known as Future, Future the Unknown^[2] and Future The Artist^[3]), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known for his singles "Ballin'" and "Rainin' Money" and his high top fade haircut.^[4] He recently changed his artist name from Future to FYÜTCH to avoid confusion with Atlanta rapper Future.

Early life and education [edit]

Simmons was born in Gary, Indiana on September 17, 1988. At the age of 6, he won the city-wide speech contest and began gaining local popularity as a public speaker. He performed his speeches at various events, such as Mayor Scott L. King's campaign banquet and in Washington, D.C. on the steps of the Congress building concerning the National Deficit. When he was 8, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee. In 2006, he graduated from Hume-Fogg High School, where he played alto saxophone in the jazz band^[5] and volunteered for several local youth organizations. He then attended Belmont University, where he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, and graduated in 2011 from Belmont's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.^[6]

Career [edit]

Biscuits and Gravy [edit]

In 2006, at the age of 17, Simmons and a few of his friends started a band called The Legendary Biscuits and Gravy, with him on lead vocals and alto saxophone, Eric Sexton on keyboard, Brandon Holt on drums, and Wesley Winfrey on tenor saxophone (bassist Brady Surface was later added).^[7] The band quickly became a local favorite and received good reviews for their fusion of jazz, R&B, and Hip Hop and their high level of musicianship at their young ages.^[8] In 2007 the band was nominated for the Southern Entertainment Awards Best Indy R&B Artist of the Year. In 2008 and 2009, the band performed at the Next Big Nashville music festival alongside other nationally-recognized Nashville bands, such as The Pink Spiders and Sam & Ruby,^[9][10] and opened for Kanye West, GZA,^[11] and Nappy Roots.^[12]

Future (the Artist) [edit]

In April 2009, Future the Artist released his first solo EP entitled The Sci Fly EP that he self-wrote and produced. It received good reviews for the electro-influence,^[13] advanced lyricism and pop hooks,^[14] and was nominated for a Nashville Music award for Best Urban Recording of the Year.^[15] Between September and October 2009, Future the Artist began the Overnight Mixtape series, in which he recorded and released six mixtapes, recording each mixtape during an overnight studio session and releasing it for free download the next day.^[16][17] The Nashville Scene spotlighted the Overnight Mixtapes in the 2009 Year in Music issue, stating that Future the Artist dominated the local underground hip hop scene.^[18] Overnight Mixtape, Vol. 4 featured live skits from Bun B and GLC.^[19] Also during this time, Future did shows with Wale,^[20] Pharrell,^[21] Little Brother and Afroman.^[22]

In 2010, Future the Artist began traveling and recording his next project.^[23] After graduating college in May 2011, Future the Artist began releasing singles and videos on the popular college music website GoodMusicAllDay^[24][25][26] and has since been co-signed by other music websites such as MzHipHop and The Smoking Section.^[27] Fyutch and Nashville rapper Chancellor Warhol's song "Bonus Lvl/Fly Away" was recently featured on the HBO Canada series Less Than Kind and E! reality show Khloé & Lamar.

In March 2012, Future the Artist made a showcase debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX ^[28] and shared the stage with rappers Freeway, Hopsin, Emilio Rojas, Jon Connor, Chris Webby, Snow Tha Product, and Dee Goodz.^[29]

In September 2012, Future the Artist changed his stage name to FYÜTCH (pronounced Fuetch). He announced the change via GoodMusicAllDay^[30] and explained the change in his song "Identity Crisis". Sean Maloney from The Nashville Scene commented on the name change: "Clearly, we have hit Peak Rap-Name Status. When you start getting this freaky with vowel placement, when you have to throw around umlauts, you know that things are getting out of control. But then again the Future-formerly-known-as-The Artist-and-before-that-The-Unknown definitely has been eclipsed by the sudden chart-topping success of R&B artist Future, and you can't blame the dude for wanting his own Google hits."^[31]

Mr. Flattop [edit]

On September 24, 2012, FYÜTCH released his first project in 3 years called Mr. Flattop, sponsored by Vibe Magazine, GoodMusicAllDay, and Live Mixtapes.^[32] The album has 12 songs and begins with an intro from executive producer and DJ Robb 'Sir' Lazenby. Music City Interactive journalist Shad Reed compares it to J. Prince's intros on Rap-A-lot records.^[33] Mr. Flattop has features from rappers Mike Stud, Futuristic, Mello Rello, singer Whitney Coleman, and production by G-Pop, Wick-it the Instigator, and The FANS. Sean Maloney from The Nashville Scene wrote, "Mr. Flattop, the first release under his new nom de plume, is a well-executed post-collegiate party-rap tape with plenty of pop hooks and big bumping Down South bass." He adds, "the real gem on Flattop is "Set Me Free," produced by longtime collaborator and P&B favorite Wick-It. It's got a gorgeous hook and a deep, mournful groove that you might not expect if you hadn't been watching both of these artist develop over the last half-decade."^[34]

FYÜTCH began his promotional tour for the album at the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, GA.^[35]

Awards [edit]

• 2007 Southern Entertainment Award Nominee w/ Biscuits and Gravy (Best Indy R&B Artist)
• 2007 and 2008 Belmont University Urban Showcase winner
• 2009 Nashville Music Award Nominee (Best Urban Recording of the Year) ^[36]

Discography [edit]

This section's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (December 2012)

Mixtapes [edit]

• Clean Cut Mixtape Vol. 1 (2006)
• Foreplay: The Mixtape (2007)
• The $FR33.99 Mixtape (2009)
• The Sci Fly EP (2009)
• The Overnight Mixtape Vol. 1-6 (2009)
• Mr. Flattop (2012)

Singles [edit]

• "Ballin'" (2011)^[37]
• "Rainin' Money" (2011)^[38]
• "Street Life" w/ Wick-it the Instigator (2011)^[39]
• "In the Morning" (2012)^[40]

Videos [edit]

• "Rainin' Money" Behind the Scenes (2011)^[41]
• "In the Morning" (2012)^[42]
• GMAD at SXSW: Day 3 (GMAD Showcase)^[43]
• "All About the Money" Freestyle (2012)^[44]
• "Identity Crisis" (2012)

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Youtube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Tumblr
• Soundcloud
• Bandcamp