21 Savage

Who is 21 Savage?

Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, famous as 21 Savage and the Slaughter King, is a rapper and songwriter of British origin. A popular teen icon today, he is admired not just for his musical skills, but also for his incredible rise to name and fame from being a petty criminal on the streets. He started dealing in drugs when he was 14 years old. He arrived at the music industry quite late, in 2013 at 21 years of age. Investing the money he had earned in the years spent on the streets, he began recording at the renowned Patchwerk Studios. Soon he caught the attention of Key!, the mainstay rapper who has played an essential role in the ground-level movement of Atlanta’s hip-hop scene. Key! gave Shayaa some career advice and introduced him to music producers who were interested in investing in a fresh yet powerful voice. Thus petty criminal Shayaa became rapper “21 Savage” and went on to release tracks like ‘Drip’, ‘X ft Future’, ‘No Heart’, ‘Red Opps’, ‘Woah’, ‘Red Rag Blue Rag’, ‘Skrrt Skrrt’, and ‘Supply’ which became massive hits, accumulating millions in revenue. He has also collaborated with the likes of Gucci Mane, Young Thug, T.I, Playboy Carti, Metro Boomin, Future, Drake, and Meek Mill, just to name a few. At present, 21 Savage is affiliated with Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The website, ‘djbooth’, has termed him “Hip-hop’s realest rapper”.

Career

Tired of his life as a thug, Shayaa started looking for a way out of the streets. He approached record producer Metro, whom Shayaa had known for years, to see if he (Metro) could help him launch his career as a rapper. Metro was interested, and soon Shayaa’s first mixtape ‘The Slaughter Tape’ was released. He was named as one of the ‘Freshman Class’ of 2016 by ‘XXL’, the famed hip hop magazine. His second mixtape was ‘Slaughter King’. His first EP, ‘Savage Mode’, also a collaboration with Metro, was released on July 15, 2016. It garnered him international success, and reached no. 44 on the Billboard 200. The single ‘X’ which featured megastar rapper Future went platinum. Famous by now under the pseudonym “21 Savage,” he proved his mettle as a rapper by working with both Drake (‘Sneakin’) and Meek Mill (‘Offended’), who had been involved in a much-publicised feud with each other. Over the recent years, he has also worked with Young Dolph, Lil Yachty, Rich the Kid, Lil Uzi Vert, Ralo, Dreezy, PnB Rock and Lil Durk. He performed his single ‘X’ at the ‘2016 BET Hip Hop Awards’.