RECORD REVIEW: 21 Savage

As I’m moving into my Providence, Rhode Island apartment over the weekend, a familiar sound catches my ear from a car parked next door. It’s undoubtedly a song I’ve never heard, but a voice I’d recognize anywhere.

I soon learned that the song was “Famous” from the new 21 Savage album ISSA. The Zaytoven and Metro Boomin’-produced instrumental is much glossier than those found anywhere throughout his previous effort, a collaboration with Metro Boomin,’ titled Savage Mode. Despite the newfound gloss, the voice remains the same.

Voice is of utmost importance when it comes to what separates 21 Savage (born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) from his peers in rap’s next generation. The from-the-grave delivery of a young man already dead in so many ways brings to question what one would expect someone to sound like, who from all accounts, has seen enough firsthand violence for 20 life times.

In interviews and in the music itself, Savage has detailed the murders of his right hand and left hand man, as well as his own shooting which he said felt like a hit on his life. Mind you, this shooting took place on his birthday, and resulted in the murder of one of his lifelong friends.

I first wrote about 21 Savage for CL in June of 2015, when he released the visuals for “Skrrt Skrrt” from The Slaughter Tape. In the comment section of that piece was, and is to this day, only one comment: “Killin the dream...”

The dream that commenter is referring to is Martin Luther King’s from his “I Have a Dream” speech. Though the comment may have echoed the initial reactions of those whose exposure to Savage came through internet videos or minimal catalog research of songs like “Red Opps,” it’s a shallow opinion at best.

That couldn’t be more apparent than on ISSA, where Savage seems to have found his footing in terms of more thought-provoking content.

The only critique is inconsistency due to length. However, the critique stems from the exact paradox of which Savage must navigate moving forward. In an XXL interview from August of last year, 21 Savage addressed some of his imagery by asking, “If 21 Savage didn’t come out rapping about them things, who would be listening to 21 Savage?”

The combination of reality and horror that makes the music of 21 Savage appeal to the crowd of dedicated hip-hop followers has almost inexplicably been picked up by more main-stream listeners through the rise of his star on the internet, and collaborations with bigger artists like Drake and Future. This leaves him in an odd space, where mainstream success and often criticized gun talk collide at a crossroads that some view as an insider’s look to a very real world, and others see as nothing more than promotion.

Savage has said that he will eventually move past some of his gun-centric subject matter, and he has done just that on tracks like “Nothing New,” where he addresses issues plaguing his community, and communities like his around the country.

“Got an extendo and a hoodie he gon’ shoot you on camera/Lost his faith in Jesus Christ he praying to a bandana/Police gunned his brother down, this shit too hard to handle/Loading up his chopper he gon’ show ‘em black lives matter.”

If “Nothing New” serves as a window to where 21 Savage’s future focus lies, it may be one of the first showings of what could be a truly impactful voice within the next generation of hip-hop.