The fruitful collaboration between rapper 21 Savage and music producer Metro Boomin has spawned a number of hip-hop hits. The combination of unique sound effects and lyrics has produced critically-acclaimed music popular with audiences the world over.
Troublesome Youth
The London-born 21 Savage (real name: Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) moved with his mother from England to Atlanta when he was seven. His early life was tumultuos, filled with gun possession charges, a juvie stint, and other criminal activities. In 2013, he was chased by a rival gang. Although shot six times, he somehow managed to survive. His best friend Johhny, however, didn’t. Following the incident, the youngster started to feel the need to rap. His stage name, 21 Savage, is partly a nod to this tragic incident that took place on the day of his 21st birthday and partly to his self-proclaimed “savage“ disposition.
The Start of the Metro Boomin Era
The prolific collaboration between Savage and Metro started when the rapper told the producer he wanted to start rapping. Though used to being approached by wannabe artists, Metro sent Savage beats. Soon after one of the Savage’s first works, Drip, was released.
In July 2016, Savage’s first extended play, and one fully produced by Metro Boomin, saw daylight. The 32-minute EP Savage Mode contains nine tracks, including X, a feature with Future, a fellow Atlanta rapper. The mini album received critical acclaim and found its way to several charts, including a number 23 spot on the US Billboard 200.
Savage’s debut studio album, Issa Album, was dropped in July 2017. Nine of the album’s 14 tracks were produced or co-produced by Metro Boomin. The biggest hit on the album was their joint effort, Bank Account, which made it to number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the time, Savage said that the track was “straight me“, explaining that most of the music, “the melody, the bass, the sample, the hi-hat“ was created by him, while Metro helped make the song longer for him to rap on.
Later that same year, 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin made a collaborative studio album Without Warning. It was followed by a number of Savage’s appearances in early 2018, including Young Thug’s EP Hear No Evil, SahBabii’s Outstanding, and BlocBoy JB’s Rover 2.0. The year ended with the release of Savage’s second studio album I Am > I Was.
Though 2019 was creatively pretty quiet (Savage released only one song called Immortal, 2020 was off to a promising start. In February 2020, Savage and Metro teased the release of another joint project and the sequel to their first major collaboration: Savage Mode II. The project was delayed, prompting 28,000 eager fans to sign a petition that May requesting the release of the album.
Finally, time had come. The album was preceded by a trailer directed by Gibson Hazard and voiced-over by no other than Morgan Freeman. It announced the long-awaited arrival in a spooky graveyard setting, where the two end up being murdered by their own doubles. The album was worth the wait and made its way to the top of many music charts internationally with hits such as Runnin and Mr. Right Now.
Recent Projects
Though Her Loss, Savage’s 2022 collaborative album with Drake, contains only a minor contribution from Metro, the two remain tight and still work on many projects. In 2023 the producer created the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, an American animated superhero movie. One of the tracks, Nonviolent Communication, features James Blake, A$AP, and 21 Savage.
There’s no doubt that we can expect more great things from the duo in future. Hopefully, fans will join forces and request another Savage Mode sequel sometime soon.
