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Future’s “Wait For U,” featuring Drake and Tems, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022 and stayed there for one week. Stereogum’s May 14, 2022, Number Ones column examined the hit and the artists’ collaboration; its later introduction connects the song to Drake’s 2024 dispute with Future. The source is a retrospective, not a new chart development.
Future’s “Wait For U,” featuring Drake and Tems, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in 2022, and Stereogum revisited the chart-topping single in its Number Ones column on May 14 that year. The retrospective considers the collaboration’s place in Future and Drake’s careers, a connection that gained new resonance when the two artists later fell out during the 2024 rap feud involving Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
The column identifies “Wait For U” as a one-week chart-topper and places it in a continuing series reviewing every Hot 100 No. 1, beginning with the chart’s launch in 1958. The piece was published as part of Stereogum’s biweekly Number Ones feature. Its focus is not a newly announced release or chart movement, but the song’s history and what its success said about the artists involved.
In the article’s account, “Wait For U” followed an earlier Future and Drake collaboration, “Way 2 Sexy,” which debuted at No. 1 in 2021. Future had come close to the top spot before: the source says “Life Is Good,” his collaboration with Drake, peaked at No. 2 in 2020. “Wait For U” was different in that Future was the lead artist, with Drake and Tems featured.
The writer describes the track as an unfinished Future idea that took shape with Drake’s participation, and argues that Drake’s star power helped its commercial prospects. That is the columnist’s interpretation, not a separate chart finding. The supplied source excerpt also identifies ATL Jacob as the song’s main sonic architect, while offering a critical assessment of the track and its title. Those judgments should be understood as review rather than independently verifiable fact.
A No. 1 With Later Echoes
The song’s chart result matters both as a milestone for Future and as evidence of the commercial reach of his partnership with Drake. Future had spent years as a major force in rap without, according to the column, securing a Hot 100 No. 1 as lead artist. “Wait For U” put him atop the chart in that role, after “Life Is Good” came close and “Way 2 Sexy” reached No. 1 with Future in a supporting role.
The retrospective also acquired a second layer after the artists’ relationship changed. The supplied column introduction points to Drake’s 2024 diss track “Push Ups,” in which Drake tells Future, “Your first number one, I had to put it in your hand.” The line invokes the success of “Wait For U” as an argument about credit and loyalty. It is Drake’s framing of their history, not an uncontested account of who made the hit possible.
For readers, the distinction is useful: the chart achievement is confirmed by the source, while the meaning of the collaboration and the artists’ motivations are subjects of the writer’s analysis and Drake’s later claim. The record’s commercial achievement and its place in a strained partnership can be discussed without treating either interpretation as settled fact.
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Future and Drake’s Chart History
Before “Wait For U,” Future and Drake had already built a run of high-profile collaborations. The source cites “Life Is Good,” which reached No. 2 in 2020, and “Way 2 Sexy,” which debuted at No. 1 in 2021. On “Way 2 Sexy,” Future appeared alongside Drake and Young Thug; the column notes that it was Future’s first Hot 100 No. 1, though he was not the lead artist.
The Number Ones column uses that chronology to challenge Drake’s later claim that he gave Future his first chart-topper. The source says the earlier song originated as a Future track and later reached Drake, and it presents “Wait For U” as another collaboration shaped around a Future idea. The article’s broader point is that commercial credit can be disputed even when the chart position itself is clear.
In 2024, Drake’s conflict with Kendrick Lamar brought his break with former collaborators into public view, including Future’s involvement. The May 2022 column predates that conflict, but its discussion of the pair’s working relationship offers relevant context for why Drake’s later “first number one” line drew attention. This background is pertinent to the song’s legacy, not evidence that the 2022 hit caused the later dispute.
“Your first number one, I had to put it in your hand.”
— Drake, in “Push Ups,” as quoted by Stereogum
Credit and Collaboration Questions
The source confirms the song’s chart position and the artists credited in its title, but it does not establish how much each contributor’s involvement independently drove the result. The column’s account of an unfinished Future idea and Drake’s commercial influence is criticism and interpretation; the excerpt does not provide production records, statements from the artists about the song’s creation, or sales and streaming figures to quantify those contributions.
It also remains unclear from the supplied material how Future would describe Drake’s claim that he helped put the first No. 1 in his hands. The excerpt gives Drake’s lyric and the writer’s challenge to its framing, but no direct response from Future. Nor does it provide a complete account of the 2024 dispute or establish that the song itself was a cause of the artists’ falling-out.
The Song’s Place in Their History
The source reports no upcoming release, chart milestone or response from Future connected to “Wait For U.” The immediate next step for readers is to distinguish the song’s documented one-week No. 1 run from the later arguments about credit and friendship that have shaped its retrospective meaning. Any further developments would depend on new statements or reporting from the artists and their representatives.
Key Questions
When did “Wait For U” reach No. 1?
The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in 2022, according to the Stereogum column.
Who performs on “Wait For U”?
It is a Future song featuring Drake and Tems. The source identifies Future as the lead artist.
Was “Wait For U” Future’s first Hot 100 No. 1?
The column describes “Wait For U” as a No. 1 with Future as lead artist. It also says “Way 2 Sexy” reached No. 1 in 2021, but Future appeared on that track with Drake and Young Thug rather than leading it.
Why did Drake refer to the song in “Push Ups”?
In the lyric quoted by Stereogum, Drake claims he helped give Future his first No. 1. That is Drake’s characterization of their collaboration; the columnist disputes the simplicity of that account, and the supplied material includes no response from Future.
Source: stereogum.com
