Fyütch

Harold Michael Simmons II (born September 17, 1988), better known by his stage name Fyütch (or Fyutch), stylized as FYÜTCH (or FYUTCH)[1] (formerly named Future and Mr. Flattop),[2][3] is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known for his songs "Ballin'" and "I Walk The Line Remix" with Wick-it the Instigator.[1] He changed his artist name from Future to Fyütch to avoid confusion with Atlanta rapper Future.

Fyütch
Background information
Birth name	Harold Michael Simmons II
Born	(1988-09-17) September 17, 1988 Gary, Indiana
Origin	Unknown
Genres	Fyüsion
Occupation(s)	Rapper Singer songwriter Record producer
Years active	2005–present
Labels	None
Website	www.fyutch.com

Early life and education

Simmons was born in Gary, Indiana on September 17, 1988. At the age of 6, he won the citywide 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 and volunteered for several local youth organizations.[4] 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.[4]

Career

Biscuits and Gravy

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 and bassist Brady Surface.[5] 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,[6][7] and opened for Kanye West, GZA,[8] and Nappy Roots.[9]

Future (the Artist)

In April 2009, Future the Artist released his first solo EP entitled The Sci Fly EP that he wrote and produced.[3] It received good reviews and was nominated for a Nashville Music award for Best Urban Recording of the Year.[10][11] 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.[3][12] 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.[13] Overnight Mixtape, Vol. 4 featured live skits from Bun B and GLC.[14] During this time, Future performed local support slots for Wale,[15] Pharrell,[16] Little Brother, and Afroman.[17]

In 2010, Future the Artist began traveling and recording his next project.[18] After graduating college in May 2011, Future the Artist began releasing singles and videos on the college music website GoodMusicAllDay[19][20][21] and other music websites such as MzHipHop and The Smoking Section.[22] Fyutch and Nashville rapper Chancellor Warhol's song "Bonus Lvl/Fly Away" 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[23] and sharing the stage with other GoodMusicAllDay artists.[24]

In September 2012, Future the Artist changed his stage name to Fyütch (pronounced Fuetch), explaining the change in his song "Identity Crisis".[25] 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."[26]

Mr. Flattop

On September 24, 2012, Fyütch released the mixtape Mr. Flattop.[27] It contains 12 songs and begins with an intro from executive producer and DJ Robb 'Sir' Lazenby. Music City Interactive journalist Shad Reed compared it to J. Prince's intros on Rap-A-lot records.[28] 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."[26] Fyütch began his promotional tour for the album at the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, GA.[29]

Peace, Love and Fyütch

In April 2013, Fyütch released a 5-song hippie/psychedelic concept EP Peace, Love & Fyütch. All 5 songs are produced by G-Pop and are full of world percussion and obscure samples. The EP also features original cover art by Bonehead (Christina Maycann). Fyütch released the EP online via HotNewHipHop, Live Mixtapes, and Good Music All Day; and hosted the release party at Nashville clothing boutique Love Is Earth. The EP is available for purchase on iTunes and streaming on Spotify.

The Other Future

In March 2014, Nardwuar interviewed Atlanta rapper Future. Narwuar asked Future if he knew of any other rappers named Future before him, then informed him. "There was another Future that was out there. Started in 2003. It was this gentleman right here, Mr. Flattop, from Nashville, TN. And he originally was called Future, then he changed his name to Mr. Flattop, and now he's called FYÜTCH. He actually was called Future in 2003 but he had to change his name because you got big."[30] Nardwuar handed Future a copy of Fyütch's album Mr. Flattop. At that exact moment, their parallel universes intersected and altered the course of the "future" forever. A week after the interview, Fyütch released a remix of Future's hit single "Move That Dope," and titled it "The Other Future (Don't Sell Dope)."[31] HipHopDX debuted the song and called it a "Future, YG, and Migos Diss."[31][32]

Freestyle Champion

August 2015, Fyütch moved to New York City and began competing in freestyle rap competitions. He won the Supreme Bars MC and Producer Tournament in October, December, and January 2016.[33][33] Fyütch won End of The Weak MC Challenge in April.[34] December 2016, he won the Supreme Bars Tournament as a producer, becoming the first person to win the competition as an MC and a Producer.[35]

Country Kendrick

Summer 2017, Fyütch began filming a weekly web series called Fyütchology, part humor and part social commentary. The series gained national coverage on Episode 12 "Country Kendrick," where Fyütch remakes Kendrick Lamar songs in a country style. The skit quickly made it to the front page of Reddit Videos and appeared on Worldstar shortly after.[36] MTV featured the skit on Total Request Live hosted by DC Young Fly, Erik Zachary, Amy Pham, Tamara Dhia, and Lawrence Jackson. Mass Appeal (media) covered the success, "nothing is currently quite as thought-provoking as watching the artist in a leather vest and cowboy hat belting out his own honky-tonk rendition of “Humble."[37]

Baby Joker

The most important character in the Fyutch Cinematic Universe, baby joker ties every song ever made by fyutch together!

I Just Woke Up

He recently collaborated with many people during the Coranavirus Lockdown to show that joy could still be achieved in this crisis. Many people wanted to participate, these people included the likes of JamMan0021, ilovecurls, funkeebob, credawg and msboogiebugg.

Awards

• 2016 Winner of Supreme Bars Producer Tournament in New York City (December) [35]
• 2016 Winner of End of The Weak MC Challenge in New York City (April) [34]
• 2016 Winner of Supreme Bars MC Tournament in New York City (January) [33]
• 2015 Winner of Supreme Bars MC Tournament in New York City (October, December) [33]
• 2009 Nashville Music Award Nominee (Best Urban Recording of the Year) [38]
• 2007 Southern Entertainment Award Nominee w/ Biscuits and Gravy (Best Indy R&B Artist)
• 2007 and 2008 Belmont University Urban Showcase winner

Discography

EP

• Philosophy of Love[39]
• Peace, Love & Fyütch[40]
• The Sci Fly EP[41]

Singles

• "Funked Up" (2016)[42]
• "Worship Song" (2015)[43]
• "Questions Vs. Answers" (2015)[44]
• "Soul Searching'" (2014)[45]
• "The Movement'" (2014)[46]
• "Living In The Darkness'" (2014)[47]
• "Pull Your Pants Up'" (2014)[48]
• "The Other Future'" (2014)[49]
• "Ballin'" (2011)[19]
• "Rainin' Money" (2011)[21]
• "Street Life" w/ Wick-it the Instigator (2011)[50]
• "In the Morning" (2012)[51]

References

1. Landoli, Kathy. "6 Examples Of Rappers With The Same Names". MTV.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
2. Webb, T. "Future The Artist – All About the Money". Retrieved July 3, 2012.
3. "Hip-hop is dead? Don't tell that to the Nashville underground". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
4. "The Beat 'n' Track with Future the Artist". belmontvision.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
5. "Happy Salmon Presents – Rock The Block @ Exit/In 1/26/10". Nashville Sunday Night. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
6. "Next Big Nashville Bands Announced". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
7. "Next Big Nashville". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
8. "GZA at MTSU, 3/31/10". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
9. "Nappy Roots w/Biscuits and Gravy". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
10. Maloney, Sean L. "Black Market at Exit/In". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
11. "Nashville Music Award Voting Begins". MusicRow – Nashville's Music Industry Publication – News, Songs From Music City. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
12. "Overnight Mixtape vol 4". www.hiphoppress.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
13. "The Year in Music: Ear to the Ground". Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
14. "Future Releases Vol. 4 of the Overnight Mixtape Series".
15. "Event Recap: Wale's Attention Deficit Tour". uproxx.com. April 21, 2009.
16. "This Weekend: Pharrell, Wale, and Eric".
17. "Weekend Round-Up: The Cream Is 3 Style! Part 2".
18. Carson, Erin (March 31, 2011). "The Beat 'n' Track with Future the Artist". belmontvision.com.
19. "Future – Ballin' (GMAD Exclusive)".
20. "Future – Rainin' Money (Behind The Scenes Cover Shoot – Track Preview)".
21. "Future – Rainin' Money (Produced by the FANS) (GMAD Exclusive)".
22. "Future The Artist – "Ballin'"".
23. "Future (TN)- SXSW 2012 Showcasing Artist". Retrieved January 10, 2012.
24. Webb. "GoodMusicAllDay at SXSW". Retrieved March 14, 2012.
25. Webb, T. "Fyütch – Mr. Flattop". Archived from the original on October 1, 2012.
26. Maloney, Sean. "Party & Bullsh*t: This Week in Nashville Hip-Hop [Fyutch, The Lonely Biscuits, Isaiah Rashad, Ziggurat, Jota Ese]". Retrieved September 28, 2012.
27. Webb, T. "Fyutch – Mr. Flattop". Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
28. Reed, Shad. "Mr. Flattop (Good Music All Day, 2012) by Fyutch". Retrieved September 30, 2012.
29. tekmatrix. "Fyütch – 'Mr. Flattop' the mixtape". Retrieved October 9, 2012.
30. tekmatrix. "Nardwuar vs. Future".
31. tekmatrix. "Fyutch – "The Other Future" (Future, Migos & YG Diss)". Retrieved April 4, 2014.
32. tekmatrix. "Fyutch Blasts Future, YG & Migos On "The Other Future"". Retrieved April 4, 2014.
33. "Supreme Bars Champions".
34. "Fyutch at EODUB".
35. "Fyutch wins Supreme Bars Producer Tournament".
36. "Country Kendrick on Worldstar".
37. "HEY, YOU'RE COOL! FYÜTCH".
38. "Nashville Music Award voting begins".
39. "Fyütch Releases His Newest EP 'Philosophy Of Love'".
40. "Fyutch – Peace, Love & Fyütch".
41. "Fyutch – The Sci Fly EP".
42. "Fyutch – Funked Up)".
43. "Fyutch – Worship Song)".
44. "Fyutch – Questions Vs Answers)".
45. "Fyutch – Soul Searching)".
46. "Fyutch – The Movement)".
47. "Fyütch – Living In The Darkness)".
48. "Fyutch – Pull Your Pants Up)".
49. "Fyutch – "The Other Future" (Future, Migos & YG Diss)".
50. Jaeger. "Wick-it the Instigator ft Future – Street Life". ThisSongSlaps.com. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
51. Webb. "Future The Artist – In The Morning (Official Video)". GoodMusicAllDay.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.