21 Savage - American Dream Review
“This what growth look like no more committing crimes”
When I first saw 21 Savage, it was on an interview on DJ Vlad’s platform. I saw a young man from Atlanta with a crazy story in a dagger tattoo on his forehead. His interview was so raw and brutal it immediately drew me to his music. His music videos followed this trend with some of them feeling like spinoffs from Rob Zombie's Halloween series
I thought to myself here is the new breed of Atlanta rappers. Savage was talking about street issues, but he was also talking about things like PTSD in his interviews. Fast forward and 21 Savage is now a household name. A collab album with Drake, successful tours, and what most thought to be a movie announcement has his name buzzing across the world. Now proven to be a spoof, it appeared Donald Glover, the creator of the hit show Atlanta had signed on to play a young 21 Savage along with Caleb Mclaughlin in a biopic called American dream.
When I first saw 21 Savage, it was on an interview on DJ Vlad’s platform. I saw a young man from Atlanta with a crazy story in a dagger tattoo on his forehead. His interview was so raw and brutal it immediately drew me to his music. His music videos followed this trend with some of them feeling like spinoffs from Rob Zombie's Halloween series
I thought to myself here is the new breed of Atlanta rappers. Savage was talking about street issues, but he was also talking about things like PTSD in his interviews. Fast forward and 21 Savage is now a household name. A collab album with Drake, successful tours, and what most thought to be a movie announcement has his name buzzing across the world. Now proven to be a spoof, it appeared Donald Glover, the creator of the hit show Atlanta had signed on to play a young 21 Savage along with Caleb Mclaughlin in a biopic called American dream.
Presumed to be a vehicle for Savage's latest album with the same name. The trailer as well as the new video for his single Redrum reflected his evolution as an artist.
Initially thought to only hail from Atlanta based on the sound of his music, a struggle with his immigrant status revealed to the world that 21 savage is actually from the UK. The visuals for his single seemed to embrace this musically for the first time. Showcasing neighborhoods and people from London.
Initially thought to only hail from Atlanta based on the sound of his music, a struggle with his immigrant status revealed to the world that 21 savage is actually from the UK. The visuals for his single seemed to embrace this musically for the first time. Showcasing neighborhoods and people from London.
Sonically the American dream aligned itself with the quality of the visuals being released around it. You can tell this was a big budget project. From the very polished cinematography of the film trailer, to the images depicting gritty back blocks in London, this project from Savage felt like his Take Care moment.
“If I take care of my hood the prosecutor call me Gotti. Turn my back on the hood they prolly kill me. Prolly rob me.”
Songs like Dark Days and Letter to my brother and were a breath of fresh air here. Savage gave a glimpse into what life was like after the streets, and even warned the youth to stay out of the mix. He also commented on the paradox of wanting to give back to his neighborhood, and what would come with it. The street mentality is a mindset that both demands adoration from, and tears down its worshippers, making it difficult to both help and leave. On this project it seemed 21 Savage getting money and seeing the world still hadn't freed even him from this paradox.
“If I take care of my hood the prosecutor call me Gotti. Turn my back on the hood they prolly kill me. Prolly rob me.”
Songs like Dark Days and Letter to my brother and were a breath of fresh air here. Savage gave a glimpse into what life was like after the streets, and even warned the youth to stay out of the mix. He also commented on the paradox of wanting to give back to his neighborhood, and what would come with it. The street mentality is a mindset that both demands adoration from, and tears down its worshippers, making it difficult to both help and leave. On this project it seemed 21 Savage getting money and seeing the world still hadn't freed even him from this paradox.
"Once you cross that line it ain't no tryna fix it. You want me to forgive you let's be realistic.
I can't kick it with your kind like I tore my meniscus"
In a genre of albums full of club bangers, this honesty and awareness definitely stood out.
It was ironically Savage’s loyalty to the trap genre that stifled the project. As analysts like Dj Akademiks pointed out, there has been much more storytelling on past projects than this one. There were times when Savage's lyricism shined through, but they were overshadowed by him sticking to what the genre called for.
This writer puts the blame on the label and not the talent. The illusion that black talent is fully in control of what they release has been shattered for some time by the public struggles of artists like Lupe Fiasco against Atlantic records. Many non black CEOs pigeon hole talent into selling stereotypes with contracts and threats. For whatever the reason, although flashes of Ibrim were heard much of the album leaned on all too familiar street tropes.
For the most part these songs didn’t seem to align with the theme. It sounded like this was a mostly single based album with story elements woven in.
As I looked closer at some of the scenes in the video, I noted Savage giving energy to the camera while others stood around him motionless. There were some scenes where people even looked a bit uncomfortable on camera. Of course it could be attributed to the aforementioned PTSD, or the age old street code of avoiding cameras entirely due to cases. But it also brought to mind another observation about Savage's music.
I’ve listened to Savage talk in interviews and in a few unfortunate clubhouse arguments. From what I've heard he is highly intelligent. There are times when it seems as though he is dumbing down. Granted his music has never been a Kendrick Lamar esque exhibition of lyrical intensity, but at times when I listened I felt the same sentiments that the internet shared when they first noticed Donald Glover as 21 Savage in The American Dream trailer.
Something is off here.
I can't kick it with your kind like I tore my meniscus"
In a genre of albums full of club bangers, this honesty and awareness definitely stood out.
It was ironically Savage’s loyalty to the trap genre that stifled the project. As analysts like Dj Akademiks pointed out, there has been much more storytelling on past projects than this one. There were times when Savage's lyricism shined through, but they were overshadowed by him sticking to what the genre called for.
This writer puts the blame on the label and not the talent. The illusion that black talent is fully in control of what they release has been shattered for some time by the public struggles of artists like Lupe Fiasco against Atlantic records. Many non black CEOs pigeon hole talent into selling stereotypes with contracts and threats. For whatever the reason, although flashes of Ibrim were heard much of the album leaned on all too familiar street tropes.
For the most part these songs didn’t seem to align with the theme. It sounded like this was a mostly single based album with story elements woven in.
As I looked closer at some of the scenes in the video, I noted Savage giving energy to the camera while others stood around him motionless. There were some scenes where people even looked a bit uncomfortable on camera. Of course it could be attributed to the aforementioned PTSD, or the age old street code of avoiding cameras entirely due to cases. But it also brought to mind another observation about Savage's music.
I’ve listened to Savage talk in interviews and in a few unfortunate clubhouse arguments. From what I've heard he is highly intelligent. There are times when it seems as though he is dumbing down. Granted his music has never been a Kendrick Lamar esque exhibition of lyrical intensity, but at times when I listened I felt the same sentiments that the internet shared when they first noticed Donald Glover as 21 Savage in The American Dream trailer.
Something is off here.
Though Donald Glover is definitely Atlanta, seeing him in a studio with a double cup of lean and a bad wig didn't give you the feeling of a serious story. The addition of Druski as an antagonist only further pulled the visuals into the realm of comedy. When it was announced the trailer wasn't real it made more sense, but I admit I breathed a sign of relief.
This felt like the label was giving 21 his “Now we’ll really make em feel you” moment, but their vision was a bit lacking in new ideas, so they ended up just pushing buttons.
Add a famous comedian here, a sample of your mother speaking there, and voila. A top selling album.
The production on the American Dream was big budget as well. Famous soul samples were everywhere to be found, but the same sense of un-alignment pervaded through the project. After hearing 21 Savage outside of albums, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he is much more intelligent then the label was allowing him to be on this project.
As I said maybe because I’m biased I blame the label more than Savage. When an artist has a successful sound at times the industry can attempt to lock them into it. But this is an artist who some say held his own with J. Cole on the song Alot. I think that he could have presented a more lyrically complex and convincing offering.
When I heard the title and saw the movie I expected there to be some sort of personal connection besides just a gangster image. It would seem that Savage is not interested and reaching beyond the street persona we've come to know from him. The American dream is alive and well, but this writer is hoping that 21 Savage can release product that shows the American Dream is more than just the streets.
This felt like the label was giving 21 his “Now we’ll really make em feel you” moment, but their vision was a bit lacking in new ideas, so they ended up just pushing buttons.
Add a famous comedian here, a sample of your mother speaking there, and voila. A top selling album.
The production on the American Dream was big budget as well. Famous soul samples were everywhere to be found, but the same sense of un-alignment pervaded through the project. After hearing 21 Savage outside of albums, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he is much more intelligent then the label was allowing him to be on this project.
As I said maybe because I’m biased I blame the label more than Savage. When an artist has a successful sound at times the industry can attempt to lock them into it. But this is an artist who some say held his own with J. Cole on the song Alot. I think that he could have presented a more lyrically complex and convincing offering.
When I heard the title and saw the movie I expected there to be some sort of personal connection besides just a gangster image. It would seem that Savage is not interested and reaching beyond the street persona we've come to know from him. The American dream is alive and well, but this writer is hoping that 21 Savage can release product that shows the American Dream is more than just the streets.