21 Savage
Written by Debra COCO
Shayaa Joseph aka 21 Savage was born and raised from Decatur, Georgia. The
number 21 represents his crew and the word Savage derived from the artist trying
to find a different Instagram name. His music represents his life growing up which
was filled with selling drugs, robberies, guns,
and the death of many people close
to him. 21’s life changed dramatically after he almost lost his own. He was out on
his 21 st birthday with some friends and they were ambushed. This resulted in him
being shot 6 times and his best friend was killed. After being shot, his perception
on life was changed dramatically. He started not to care about anyone but he soon
snapped out of that and realized that he is still here for a purpose and he decided to
change his ways. This was one of the best moves that he could have made in his
life because look at him now. He has a huge following of fans from state to state
and his numbers continue to grow.
At the young age of 24, this artist grew up dealing with the harsh side of life in
Atlanta. Being a member of the 21 crew, he had affiliations and friendships with
members of the Bloods and Crip gangs. When he was 14 years old, he was
expelled from Middle School for bringing a gun to scare off a rival. The rival
ended up snitching and he got arrested. Due to numerous fights and being accused
of misconduct on the school bus he was eventually expelled from all of the schools
in his county. This led to him dropping out and going hard on his street hustle with
his crew. After he recovered from his shooting incident, he decided that enough
was enough. He had two children and he wanted to see them grow up so he
decided to go hard and do music. Around this time, 21’s brother robbed a home
and stole a mac computer and other items that he gave to him which he used to do
develop his craft. Unfortunately, soon after, his brother was gunned down. The
dagger tattoo that you now see on his forehead is in honor of him.
From that point, 21 decided to take his street lessons learned and apply them to his
music. 21 feel that many artists sign on with labels too soon. He knows that
eventually he may have to, but for right now he is an independent artist who has a
platform of producers supporting him. In 2015, he released The Slaughter Tape
and Slaughter King mixtapes. Savage Mode with Metro Boomin was released in
2016. “21 Savage is important because he’s one of the last real street niggas left
making music,” stresses Metro Boomin. “(1. Meet 21 Savage). Other artist
collaborations include Lil Yachty, Sonny Digital, Zaytoven, Bankroll Mafia, Offset
and Playboi Carti to name a few. He is also on the cover of XXL Freshmen Class
of 2016 issue so make sure to check out his interview. “21 Savage currently has
three songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including “No Heart” and his Future collab
“X,” from his album with Metro Boomin Savage Mode, and “Sneakin” which he’s
featured on with Drake.” (2. XXL - 21 Savage Has Three Songs on the Billboard
Hot 100). This artist is living proof that independent artists can reach mainstream
without being signed to a label. His career is on fire right now!!
So there you go, here is a glimpse of Atlanta’s most respected new rapper on the
scene. He takes us down the dark streets with dark beats and lyrics. Sadly, his life
mirrors the upbringing of many young men in our communities that have to hustle
in the streets to survive. It is a way of life that many are born into and die by. 21
Savage has endured pain and loss but he has made a decision to use those
experiences to inspire others to get out the hood to have a better life. He has a new
and improved street hustle. Check out his website www.21savage.com for
upcoming tour dates and appearances. The streets are now watching 21 Savage so
check him out at a city near you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment