21 Savage is greater than he was

Although an amateur into the genre, hip- hop and rap music has consumed my most recent time spent on Spotify. I have a strong interest on gaining more knowledge in this world, which dominates U.S. streaming charts. Starting off by listening to mainstream artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Migos, and others, I have begun to fine tune my taste in rap music mainly finding focus in artists who provide fun, exciting beats mixed with a good bass and an interesting vocal sound. Merging from the pop world to hip-hop can generally be eased with popular rap artists who tend to provide a nice melody/chorus, dance beats, catchy lyrics, or a combination of the three. Those factors tend to get more radio or streaming time, making them ideal to pique the interest of pop listeners who seek out those same traits in a song. With the more time that I spend exploring this genre, I have discovered a lot of artists I had not been familiar with before and gained deeper insight into artist that I have been vaguely exposed to.

The first time I heard of rapper 21 Savage was from Post Malone’s hit song of 2017, rockstar (feat. 21 Savage). This song was at every party, on every playlist, and at the top of every chart during it’s height and it was rare to find a teenager who had not been exposed to the addictive beat. 21’s uniquely deep, monotonous voice adds a laid-back sound that verges on apathetic while still continuing to remain contemporarily cool. His verse in rockstar gives the song its main bass drop and also a switch in character and sound that Post Malone undertakes in the rest of the song. Because I had now been exposed to 21’s name and voice, I could more easily identify him in other songs and take an interest when I saw his name on Spotify. As the years have gone on since the release of rockstar, I have loosely followed Savage’s career path as he collaborates with almost any and every rapper in the business.

When I got the notification that 21 Savage had released a new album, I was clearly interested, although skeptical that it would be an album that I would want to add to my saved songs. When I had listened to tracks from 21 Savage’s 2017 album titled Issa Album, I was not a big fan of the rapper’s solo songs. I attributed my distaste back to the rapper’s signature sound, a very monotone voice mixed with lyrics about his large bank account. The lack of melody and range in his work made it almost stagnant, which I didn’t necessarily enjoy. I gave this new album a chance though, and I am really glad that I did. The amount of work and emotion that 21 put into this album is clearly evident throughout the whole project, which is miles ahead of his previous albums in terms of success. The album is titled i am > i was, said out loud as “I am greater than I was”. This title perfectly describes the improvement that the young rapper has made while suggesting the content that will be talked about throughout the album, self-improvement, self-love, and self-acceptance. These are growing themes in almost any industry among the rising generation, who take being self-centered to a whole new level- a productive one.

21 Savage’s album have a couple huge improvements that really worked together in order to drastically change his album, and for the better. First, and foremost, is his vocal performance. While I always thought that 21 Savage was kind of “stuck” in his sound, his album proved to his fans, and to me, that he is able to create a wide variety of sounds and harmonies. There is a newfound musical element to his songs, where before there was no distinct chorus- only hard, fast raps. 21 Savage would not be himself if those same hard raps were not included, but now they are placed artfully, giving them more power where needed. The improvement in his voice is so clear in this album that it would impress any observer to see such a new and more diverse side to the rapper.

21’s album also manages to get deeper into his personal life and struggles. A big portion of the rap world is subtly, or not so subtly, boasting about your riches and accomplishments. However, many rappers will add stories of their past struggles and strifes or troubled backgrounds in their projects adding depth and humanism to their large lifestyles. While these are not always the songs that become number one hits, they are crucial to an album’s maturity level. It is really nice to see 21 Savage mature his album in such a way that the lyrics give off that perfect mix of emotional and egotistical. His lyrics speak to his accomplishments, even ones that have occurred recently, in a rather witty way. One of his most famous lines in the song rockstar is “Savage, why you got a 12 car garage and you only got 6 cars?” The rapper gives the song a nod as he says in his song all my friends: “Why you got a 12 car garage? ‘Cause I bought six new cars.” A slight reference to his growing wealth meshed together with a reference to the song that brought him a lot of that wealth, creates for a really nice lyrical moment. This is just one example of the improved lyrical quality of his songs, although it occurs in almost all of the tracks off the album.

While those were just two examples of how 21 has improved, his album really shows the artist’s growth wherever it can be found. It is in no way perfect, and as always there is plenty of room to refine his craft, but the progress he has made should be celebrated and noticed. 21 Savage has the rap world at his fingertips and with work like his most recent, soon it will be in his full grasp.