21 Savage is a popular American underground rapper from Atlanta. The artist became popular thanks to The Slaughter Tape mixtape. The artist has two Grammy nominations. As well as winning the Billboard Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. His discography includes two studio albums of his own. There are also joint releases with Offset и Metro Boomin, thanks to which the musician expanded the circle of fans.
Life of 21 Savage before popularity
The artist was born on October 22, 1992 in the UK, from where he left with his mother to Atlanta (USA) when he was 7 years old. His real name is Shia Bin Abraham-Joseph. The performer has four brothers and six sisters.
Mother Hazer was engaged in education of children alone. When 21 Savage was a teenager, one of his brothers was running a drug deal, during which he was shot at, and the guy died.
Shia went to 1st grade at Atlanta Public School. He completed his studies until the 6th grade, then was expelled. The management of the educational institution considered that the guy was not safe for other students. The reason for this was the discovery of firearms in the performer's backpack. When his mother got him into a school in another county, 21 Savage started selling marijuana.
During one of these transactions, he was caught. And at the age of 13 he went to a penal colony. Freed, the guy decided to stop studying at school and start selling soft drugs.
A few years later, 21 Savage joined the well-known street gang Bloods. In their composition, he participated not only in the distribution of drugs, but also in car theft, theft, and extortion. Moreover, once the performer was arrested for transporting smuggled weapons.
The black bar
21 Savage didn't plan on becoming a musician. He came to this after a long black streak in life. First, during a shootout with the police, his best friend Larry was killed. Later on his 21st birthday, the performer received 6 shots. Shaya nearly bled to death after one of the bullets hit him in the neck. Moreover, the rapper received damage to a nearby nerve. During the shootout, he lost another friend and brother.
Shaya's famous face tattoo is a tribute to his younger brother. The fact is that the killed Tai Man had the same pattern. It was the logo of the group to which Tai belonged. After the death of his brother, 21 Savage made himself the same tattoo between the eyes in memory of a loved one.
The beginning of the creative path of Shaya Abraham-Joseph
Shaya took the stage name 21 Savage to create the songs. The number "21" in it meant the 21st birthday, on which he lost five comrades. The word Savage has no history, the artist added it to make a beautiful nickname on Instagram. To create tracks, he invested money earned on the streets and recorded compositions at the famous Patchwerk Recording Studios.
In early compositions, the performer reflected on his hard life. He soon managed to get the attention of Metro Boomin. In May 2015, the artist released his first mixtape, The Slaughter Tape.
Less than two months after its release, the aspiring artist released the Free Guwop EP. The work was released in honor of fellow rapper Gucci Manewhich greatly influenced him. In December, the second mixtape Slaughter King was released.
EP Savage Mode (2016) gave the artist a huge boost in terms of media. It peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200. Moreover, the single "X", which was on the EP, became 21 Savage's debut platinum record. He performed the track during the 2016 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
In 2017, the rapper signed a contract with Epic Records. The rapper embarked on the Issa Tour from March to May 2017. Already in July, he released his first full-length album Issa Album. The work included 14 tracks and debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200. In the first week, the artist managed to sell 77 equivalent copies.
In February 2017, together with rapper Post Malone, Shaya released the Rockstar track, which literally “blew up” the Internet. The composition became an unconditional hit of the fall and for a long time occupied the 1st position in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For 21 Savage, like Post Malone, it was the first entry to top the charts. The video was released in November 2017. And now he has gained more than 780 million views.
What is the success of 21 Savage in music now?
In 2018, Shaya made a guest appearance on the Young Thug Hear No Evil EP. He also took part in the recordings of the tracks BlocBoy JB Rover 2.0 and Clout from Ty Dolla $ign. In the same year, his second studio album I Am > I Was was released. The name stands for "I am greater than I was." The album received widespread critical acclaim and performed well commercially. He was able to reach the top spot on the Billboard 200 with 18 record sales. The work was also nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
In 2019, 21 Savage released only one Immortal track. In February 2020, 21 Savage and his buddy Metro Boomin hinted at the release of the Savage Mode II EP. And at the end of September 2020, they published a teaser for Savage Mode II from director Gibson Hazard. It stated that the mini-album would be released on October 2. However, the highly anticipated EP eventually came out on October 19, 2020.
Personal life of Shaya Abraham-Joseph
While filming an online episode of Sneaker Shopping for Complex, the rapper revealed that he has three children. Moreover, he became the father of two of them at the age of 19. There is no information about who are the mothers of the children.
21 Savage dated popular model Amber Rose for a little less than a year. They were first spotted together in 2017. For some time, the couple hid their relationship. Amber and Shia confirmed their romance on Instagram. Sometimes there was information in the media that they were going to get married. However, in May 2018, young people decided to leave.
Prior to his relationship with Amber Rose, the performer was at odds with Tyga over Kylie Jenner. The fact is that the performer posted a series of tweets that he is in love with the reality show star. At that time, Kylie was dating rapper Taiga. He replied to Shaya with a teasing diss track, the conflict did not develop further.
Controversial moments in 21 Savage's career
In 2018, the artist created the Guns Down, Paintballs Up movement. It called for an end to the use of real pistols and machine guns, replacing them with paintball guns. According to the head of the Detroit Police Department, the attempt to reduce the use of firearms was "well-intentioned, but at the same time misguided."
There were several incidents on the streets that led to serious injuries, property damage, even murders. The artist did not comment on this situation. However, he paid for the funeral of a three-year-old child who died in one of the incidents.
Another controversy arose over ASMR's lyrics. In it, the performer said: "We are taking Jewish money, everything is kosher." Many listeners criticized the track for supporting and spreading false stereotypes about Jews. The artist later apologized on his Twitter. He explained to subscribers:
“My Jewish acquaintances are very smart about money, so I wrote that we get their money. I didn't even expect that someone would be hurt. Sorry to everyone I offended, I didn't mean to do this - I love people and I'm nice to everyone."
In 2020, 21 Savage began feuding with American producer Young Chop. The cause of the conflict was the producer's insults to Shaya during a live broadcast on Instagram. In April, Young Chop opened up about taking a taxi to the artist's area to find his house. At some point, an unknown criminal began to shoot at the car, presumably it was 21 Savage. It was not possible to confirm the veracity of this story, since not a single camera around recorded gunshots.
