A year after the release of their debut album, they fired their manager Gene Griffin—who they claimed allocated funds from the group.

One of New Edition's production managers Ronald Boyd shot and killed Anthony Bee—a member of Guy's security detail.

[4][5][6] Guy would dedicate the song "Long Gone" to the memory of Bee- as well as Wreckx-n-Effect member Brandon Mitchell, who was also killed in the same year.

[7] By the time they released the fifth single "Let's Stay Together" in early 1992, Guy called it quits and embarked on separate endeavors, with Aaron and Damion Hall releasing solo albums and Riley starting the group Blackstreet with Damion Hall's protege Chauncey Black, along with close friends Levi Little & Joe Stonestreet.

Although Alex Henderson of AllMusic felt The Future was not as strong an album as its predecessor, he still gave a positive note to the work, calling it "one of the more appealing—and certainly more authentic—examples of "new jack swing.