21 Savage, or Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is a British-American rapper who gained popularity through features with popular artists and producers like Metro Boomin and Drake. This past Friday, he released his third solo album titled “american dream” with a track list of 15 songs and 12 features including artists such as Brent Faiyaz, Doja Cat, Travis Scott and many more.
Savage has been in the music industry for more than a decade but has only released two previous solo albums. With such a low number of albums, there was a lack of confidence that this album would be good as he’s been viewed as more of a ‘feature artist’ by the public, but he did not come to disappoint.
To open the album is Savage’s mother, Heather Camilla Joseph. Her voice speaks her American dream for him, which segues to the second track titled “all of me.” The transition between the interlude and track is satisfying and the song itself is so good. Savage incorporates cheesy and clever lines which I find entertaining and make the tracks a lot better, like in this song when he says, “my shooter pescatarian but he eat up all the all the beef.” The little things like that make the song all the more satisfying and fun.
My top songs on this album are “redrum”, “dangerous” and “should’ve worn a bonnet.” “redrum’ begins with a sample of the 1962 song “Serenata Do Adeus” and then the beat drops into the actual song which is so satisfying and it’s something that Savage does well. “dangerous” features Metro Boomin and Lil Durk. The track itself is catchy and the verse that Durk drops is good as well as Savage’s. Lastly, “should’ve worn a bonnet” is a favorite of mine that features Brent Faiyaz. The track incorporates both their music styles which I enjoy. Faiyaz’s voice goes perfectly with the song and again Savage’s verses are good.
While the album is enjoyable there are a few that weren’t as exciting for me to listen to which were “pop your sh*t”, “nee-nah” and “see the real.” While they’re all still great tracks, there wasn’t as much excitement while listening to them. “pop your sh*t” could’ve had more bass to it as the track itself was very plain compared to other songs. Travis Scott’s feature on “nee-nah” was average and the track “see the real” could’ve had a better beat/bass. Something that all the songs have in common which I’ve already stated is the lack of bass/beat. While some may enjoy a softer, chiller song, I enjoy Savage’s ability to make a song all the better with a nice bass and beat drop.
The album closes with “dark days,” featuring Mariah the Scientist and his mother’s voice again. I think this ending is fitting and closes the album perfectly. The callback to his mother’s message is done beautifully and the overall message of the entire album is executed well with the final quote being “By the grace of the source of life, so be it.”
All the other songs on the album were good and well-written, but they didn’t stand out to me as a favorite. Overall, I think Savage did a great job writing and producing everything. He had good features on the album and Metro Boomin was a great choice when it came to producing as it’s been shown in their previous work together that they always create magic. The album was a 10/10 in my opinion and I can’t wait to see what Savage drops next.
