Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia.
He composed the soundtrack extended play for Spiral.
Early Life[]
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was born on October 22, 1992, at Newham University Hospital in the Plaistow area of London, the son of Heather Carmillia Joseph and Kevin Cornelius Emmons. His parents are both British nationals of Caribbean origin. His mother's family is from Dominica, while his father's family descends from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Shéyaa's father and twin sisters, dance choreographers Kyra and Jayda Davis, continue to live in London, where their father works for the Westminster City Council.
His parents separated early in his life, and Shéyaa moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his mother at age 7. In June 2005, at the age of 12, he returned to the United Kingdom for his uncle's funeral, stayed for a month, and then went back to Atlanta on an H-4 visa on July 22, 2005, which allegedly expired a year later. His mother then began a relationship with Dr. Amsu Anpu, an endocrinologist and British expatriate, with whom she had more children. Shéyaa had a brother, Quantivayus, who died in a shooting after an attempted drug deal.
In the seventh grade, Shéyaa was banned permanently from every school in the DeKalb County District for gun possession. This incident led him to attend schools around the Atlanta metropolitan area before being sent to a juvenile detention center. Following his release, he completed eighth grade through an alternative program before finishing a semester of high school. However, he dropped out in his first year after multiple exclusions.
After dropping out, he joined a local street gang affiliated with the wider Bloods gang and became a full-time drug dealer, mainly selling cannabis. He also regularly participated in other criminal activities, including robbery and car theft, although he was only arrested once after contraband was found in a car he was driving. In 2011, when he was 19, his right-hand man Larry was killed in a shootout. In 2013, during an attempted robbery on his 21st birthday, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was shot six times by rival gang members, and his best friend, Johnny, was killed.
Career[]
2014 - 2019[]
Shéyaa began rapping under his stage name, 21 Savage, following the shootout. His music career was initially subsidized by his deceased friend's uncle, who gave him money to afford studio time in 2013. On November 12, 2014, 21 Savage's debut single, Picky, produced by DJ Plugg, was released. It was later included in his debut mixtape, The Slaughter Tape, released on May 25, 2015.
On July 2, 2015, 21 Savage released a collaborative EP, Free Guwop, with Sonny Digital to pay tribute to Gucci Mane. On December 1, 2015, 21 Savage released his second mixtape, Slaughter King.
On July 15, 2016, 21 Savage released his joint EP, Savage Mode, with Atlanta-based record producer Metro Boomin. The EP gained international success and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200, becoming their highest charting EP. In November 2016, he was on the cover of The Fader. The Savage Mode single "X," featuring Future, was confirmed by Billboard as going platinum in the US, being 21's first platinum record. On January 18, 2017, 21 Savage announced that he had signed with Epic Records.
In 2017, his debut album, Issa Album, debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Bank Account," peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, he was featured on Post Malone's single "Rockstar," which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke numerous records. It became 21 Savage's first number-one song.
On October 31, 2017, 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin released a collaborative studio album, Without Warning. Without Warning debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 and received generally positive reviews from critics. Its lead single, "Ric Flair Drip," peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In April 2018, 21 Savage had a guest appearance on Young Thug's extended play, Hear No Evil, alongside fellow rappers Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert. Later that month, he also appeared on the single "Outstanding" by SahBabii. On March 21, 2018, he was featured on the single "Rover 2.0." The following month, 21 Savage was featured on Ty Dolla Sign's "Clout" as part of the deluxe edition of his album Beach House 3.
On October 31, 2018, 21 Savage posted a picture on his Instagram account showing a man in silhouette jumping in the air in the direction away from a large blaze. In the bottom right corner of the picture was a "Parental Advisory" notice. 21 Savage also tagged Metro Boomin in the post. Some speculated it to be a sequel to 2017's Without Warning album. However, it was the cover for Metro's debut solo album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes.
On December 6, 2018, 21 Savage posted the cover art for his album, I Am > I Was, on Instagram, which featured a blurred-out picture of himself, captioning the image with several goat emojis. The next day, 21 Savage took to Twitter and his Instagram story to apologize that he "forgot" to release the album, saying on Twitter: "Dam I forgot to drop my album my bad y'all." He announced a release on December 21, 2018. Record producer Louis Bell leaked the tracklist via his Instagram story on December 13, 2018. 21 Savage released I Am > I Was on December 21, 2018. It included features from Travis Scott, Post Malone, Childish Gambino, Offset, J. Cole, Gunna, Lil Baby, Project Pat, Yung Miami, and Schoolboy Q. However, none of them were credited as artists on the album. I Am > I Was debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and earned 131,000 album-equivalent units, making it 21 Savage's first US number-one album. It was led by "A Lot," featuring vocals from J. Cole. The song peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, earning 21 Savage his first Grammy award. Through 2019, 21 Savage released only one song named "Immortal."
2020 - present[]
In February 2020, 21 Savage and longtime collaborator Metro Boomin hinted at releasing a sequel to their Savage Mode extended play, Savage Mode II. On September 28, 2020, a teaser trailer for Savage Mode II was released, announcing the release date of October 2.
In April 2021, 21 Savage was featured alongside Justin Bieber on DJ Khaled's single, "Let It Go." On May 14, 2021, he released an EP titled "Spiral," serving as the official soundtrack for Spiral: From the Book of Saw. The same day, he was featured on "My Life" from J. Cole's sixth studio album, The Off-Season. The track peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Months later, in October 2021, Abraham-Joseph appeared as a feature on Nardo Wick's "Who Want Smoke?" remix alongside G Herbo and Lil Durk. The track peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. On November 16, 2021, 21 Savage was featured on Drake's "Knife Talk" alongside Project Pat. The track peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.
On January 14, 2022, 21 Savage appeared as a feature alongside Baby Tate on JID's "Surround Sound." The following month, on February 4, 2022, he was featured on the single "Don't Play That" by Chicago rapper King Von as the first single for the posthumous album What It Means to Be King. The single was accompanied by a related music video. The tune peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 59 on the Billboard Global 200. On March 11, 2022, 21 Savage appeared as a feature on Latto's "Wheelie," the third single from her sophomore album, 777. Months later, on June 10, 2022, he was featured on Pharrell Williams' "Cash in Cash Out." A week later, on June 17, 2022, 21 Savage appeared as a feature on "Jimmy Cooks," the outro track of Drake's seventh studio album, Honestly, Nevermind. The track debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, marking 21 Savage's second chart-topping single. It was later re-released as a single on October 11, 2022.
On October 22, 2022, Drake and 21 Savage released the official music video for "Jimmy Cooks," announcing the release of the two's collaborative studio album, Her Loss. Upon release on November 4, 2022, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 404,000 units, marking Abraham-Joseph's fifth top-ten entry and his third consecutive album to top the charts. All sixteen tracks from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, while eight appeared in the top ten.
On December 2, 2022, 21 Savage appeared on four tracks from Metro Boomin's sophomore album, Heroes & Villains: "Umbrella" with Young Nudy, "Creepin" with The Weeknd, "Niagara Falls (Foot or 2)" with Travis Scott, and "Walk Em Down (Don't Kill Civilians)" featuring Mustafa. "Creepin" was re-released as the lead single from the album on January 27, 2023. The track peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On February 28, 2023, 21 Savage appeared on Young Nudy's "Peaches & Eggplants." The track was re-released as the lead single from Nudy's Gumbo album on May 16, 2023. On March 31, 2023, Savage was featured alongside DaBaby on Gucci Mane's "06 Gucci." On May 26, 2023, he was recruited by Lil Durk as a feature on "War Bout It" from his album Almost Healed. On June 2, 2023, Savage was featured on two tracks from Metro Boomin's soundtrack album, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: "Nonviolent Communication" with James Blake and ASAP Rocky, and "Givin' Up (Not the One)" with Don Toliver and 2 Chainz. On the same day, he appeared as a feature on Toosii's album, Naujour.
On June 23, 2023, Savage appeared on the remix of Burna Boy's "Sittin' on Top of the World." The remix received a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. That same day, 21 Savage appeared as a feature on two tracks from Young Thug's third studio album, Business Is Business: "Wit da Racks" with Travis Scott and Yak Gotti, and "Want Me Dead." Weeks later, Savage appeared as a feature on two tracks from Travis Scott's fourth studio album, Utopia: "Topia Twins" with Rob49 and "Til Further Notice" with James Blake.
On September 15, 2023, Savage appeared on "Turks & Caicos" from Rod Wave's fifth studio album, Nostalgia, and was featured on "Another One of Me" alongside Diddy, The Weeknd, and French Montana. The following month, Savage appeared on Drake's "Calling for You" from his eighth studio album, For All the Dogs.
On January 8, 2024, 21 Savage announced a biopic titled American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, which was set to feature him, Donald Glover, and Caleb McLaughlin as the leads. However, on January 24, Savage confirmed on Shannon Sharpe's podcast, Club Shay Shay, that the movie does not exist and its "trailer" was a parody.
On January 10, 2024, Savage announced his third studio album, American Dream. It was released on January 12, 2024, and featured guest appearances from Travis Scott, Young Thug, Doja Cat, Brent Faiyaz, Lil Durk, Summer Walker, Mariah the Scientist, Burna Boy, and Metro Boomin. Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 133,000 units, marking Abraham-Joseph's sixth top-ten entry and his fourth consecutive album to top the charts. American Dream was supported by the singles "Redrum" and "N.H.I.E." with Doja Cat, which debuted at number five and nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. The Travis Scott and Metro Boomin-assisted "Née-Nah" debuted at the number ten position on the chart. Burna Boy's single "Sittin' On Top of the World," which featured 21 Savage, received a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Burna Boy performed the song at the ceremony on February 4, 2024, alongside 21 Savage and Brandy, whose 1998 single "Top of the World" was heavily sampled in the single.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Issa Album |
| 2018 | I Am > I Was |
| 2024 | American Dream |
Collaborative Albums[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Without Warning |
| 2020 | Savage Mode II |
| 2022 | Her Loss |
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | The Fate of the Furious |
| 2018 | Uncle Drew |
| Superfly | |
| The Hate U Give | |
| 2019 | Gully |
| 2021 | Spiral |
| Lost in the Woods | |
| Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings |
Television Series[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Verified |
| Toonami Pre-Flight | |
| 2017 | Ballers |
| 2019 | Godfather of Harlem |
| 2020 | Masked Singer Suomi |
| 2021 | Ozark |
| 2023 | What's Up, Wildcats: News Opens |
| 2018-2024 | Saturday Night Live |
Video Games[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Fortnite |
Gallery[]
