Photo: Getty
He's looking at a long jail sentence.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Feb 07, 2020
The rapper Future (real name: Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn) has had his fair share of drama, especially as it concerns the ladies. And that drama goes a lot further than leaving a series of broken hearts in his wake: he has six children with six different women (and, it's possible that he has two more children with two other women, as their paternity cases are still pending), including a child with R&B songstress-turned-entrepreneur Ciara.
Future's oldest child is 17 years old and apparently, he's feeling the effects of not having a good father or father figure in his life because he's just been arrested on suspicion of gang activity. If he's convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
So, who is Future's son, Jakobi Wilburn? Let's look at what we know about him — and the charges pending against him.
1. Who is Jakobi Wilburn, Future's oldest son? He's Future's first child with his first ex.
Jakobi Wilburn's mother is Future's ex-girlfriend, Jessica Smith, and he was born long before his father even got into the entertainment industry. It's unclear, however, if Future has a relationship with his son, or if Future provided for his son prior to this arrest.
2. He was arrested on January 19, 2020.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, who released the names of all the people they arrested on January 19, 2020, Jakobi Muyson Wilburn, 17, was arrested and charged with "criminal use of an article with altered ID mark-possession of firearm and giving false name, address or birthdate to law enforcement officer." After he was already in the system, he was hit with more charges, including suspicion of gang activity, and possession of a firearm with the serial number scratched off.
3. Wilburn's mother said she wants people to respect her son's privacy.
When her son was arrested on these charges, Jessica Smith released a statement demanding that the press stay out of Wilburn's business. "Our son is a minor and to protect his well being in this trying situation, we ask that everyone please respect our privacy at this time," she said.
4. Future will be covering all of his son's legal bills.
In the same statement demanding privacy, Smith revealed that Future will be covering all of his son's legal bills. She also said that despite initial reports that her son was "homeless" — listed in the arresting papers as "indigent" — he, in fact, lives at home with her in the Covington district of Atlanta, GA.
5. But Wilburn is being charged as an adult.
Georgia is one of only three states in the United States — the other two being Texas and Wisconsin — that charges teenagers as adults, depending on the severity of the crime. While Georgia lawmakers are looking to change that law, the law as it stands now reads that children as young as 13 years old can be tried as adults if they're accused of violent felonies, such as murder or rape. This, of course, explains why Wilburn is being charged as an adult, even though he's only 17 years old.
6. Future hasn't made a comment on his son's pending charges.
As of this writing, even though Smith — Wilburn's mother — has commented about her son's current legal woes, Future has not made an official comment. However, we will keep you posted if — and when — that changes, and we'll certainly keep you apprised of all the legal developments in the case.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.