If anyone’s going to go hard, it’s 21 Savage who turned to music after he was shot six times on his 21st birthday in 2013. The rapper almost died of blood loss, and rose soon after to bring back rough, grimy, gangsta driven hip hop good enough for a Grammy.
21 Savage was born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in 1992 in London before moving to Atlanta when he was seven. The rap artist’s music is a dark reflection of the difficult times, the mean street neighbourhoods he was brought up in and the violence and drugs that surrounded him. Through his rise, his brother was killed and many of his friends were murdered with the rapper attending five funerals in one year.
21 Savage’s energy remained focused on music as he started making mix tapes with The Slaughter Tape sparking his recognition in 2015. With Metro Boomin, he released the EP Savage Mode the following year which gained further attention. In 2017, his debut studio album Issa Album peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200, with Bank Account becoming his first top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
At the end of 2017, 21 Savage received his first number one single with his feature on Post Malone’s Rockstar which was also nominated in two categories at the 61st Grammy Awards. His second album I am >I Was received critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. It featured the hit A Lot, which won 21 Savage his first Grammy for Best Rap Song in 2020.
That same year, he released the sequel collaboration with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode II which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
If anyone’s shown us how to make the best out of a bad situation, it’s this rapper who’s opened up about the times he lived through. A forward thinker from the get go, 21 Savage will tell you all there is to know about hustling for riches.
1. I wanna make it cool for kids to get into tech, startups, and entrepreneurship – cooler than buying a bunch of jewelry.
2. I know, when you make certain decision, you gotta know certain stuff gon’ happen.
3. That’s what I think stand out about me, because of this tattoo on my face.
4. I just create. I don’t have expectations. I just make music.
5. How can you trust somebody that don’t put boiled egg in their potato salad?
6. I might rap about a lot of stuff, but that’s just a reflection about what I’ve been through. But in real life, everything I do is positive.
7. People need to think about their actions
8. I stopped wearing jewelry for a couple of reasons. One is because everybody wears jewelry. I outgrew it; I’m getting a little wiser and growing, so… Another reason is because the richest people that I’ve ever met in my life, they’ve never had on jewelry.
9. It makes me feel good just to know that I’m touching people.
10. My music is my music, that’s what people want to hear, so I’m going to give ’em what they want to hear.
11. I want to give back to the community, help the kids, get them uniforms, books, book bags, everything they need… just do better. That’s where it starts: the kids.
12. It’s really important for me to show kids that there are other ways to get rich beyond rapping.
13. I like to reflect on the past.
14. You pray, ask questions, ask for guidance, pay respect to ancestors. It’s all about making sure you pay for your sins — everybody gon’ make mistakes, commit sins. You just gotta make it right.
15. Every time I meet someone who’s very, very rich – like, wealthy – I’ve never seen them with jewelry on.
16. I’m humble and got a brain.
17. I wanted to become a rapper after I got shot. I rapped before, but I ain’t want to be no rapper.
18. To get rich and take care of all my ni**as and my momma, I don’t want to be the best rapper in the world, I don’t want to be the richest rapper in the world, I want all my partners to have nice houses and cars and I want my momma to have a nice car and a nice house.
19. That’s the only thing I don’t like – people always got something to say about my life. I don’t know nothing about their life. People just judge you when they don’t even know you.
20. If you’re from the hood and you black, you’re going to have some type of music in your life.
21. I got two kids. I ain’t tryna die. Or get locked up.
22. Rapping just gave me something to do versus the streets.
23. Giving back to where I grew up means a lot to me. These kids need it, and I use to be one of those kids. Being able to see someone from where you from make it and come back and genuine give back will motivate these kids to do the same for their kids and the community.
24. I don’t think people really understand how hard it is to be black. Especially when you coming from nothing.
25. I made sure I made certain songs just so people couldn’t say every song sound the same.
26. I don’t really think voting changes nothing, personally.
27. Even if I ain’t the famous-est, the richest, the best – as long as I know I kept it real and didn’t backstab nobody – I sleep good at night.
28. If u knew what it took u would work for everything you get.
29. Most of the time, I just talk about me or what I experience.