Album: american dream
Artist: 21 Savage
Label: Slaughter Gang LLC
Non-Airable Tracks: All of them.
Get the clean album on all streaming platforms.
21 Savage is back and better than ever. He entered the new year by releasing his new album american dream on January 12, 2024. After 5 years without releasing anything, 21 came back strong with a diverse and emotional solo album. As a fan myself, I was really happy to hear that 21 was still going to continue in his music career after the lengthy legal battles he has endured over the past couple of years after his removal from the Grammys by ICE in 2019. In the past, 21 Savage built his empire on storytelling, illustrating his story of dealing with survivors' guilt and violence on the streets of East Atlanta throughout his life. However, this album is even better, focusing on his truth; the reality of being a black undocumented immigrant raised in America.
Although the narrative he has built his career on is partly false, he unveils his ultimate truth in his new album. American dream tells the story of 21's life inside and outside of the Americas; outlining the truth that the "American Dream" isn't always pleasant. He and his family moved out of Brixton as a child to East Atlanta to escape the violence there, but unfortunately, he only encountered more once he got to America. He talks about struggling with gang violence and getting his childhood (and friends) taken away at the hands of guns in his song "dark days," featuring Mariah the Scientist. In this song, he warns the children of America to stay away from the things he thought he had to do to survive in Atlanta. He reflects on all his wrongs, talking about how he wishes he could have gotten to where he is at without all of the bad deeds, gun violence, and deaths around him. To me, this album was the most personal to me and the closest we can get to how 21 has felt throughout his upbringing. Never in my life did I think I would be moved by a 21 Savage song, but this song truly made me feel tremendously.
Besides the lyrical beauty of this album, the samples and background tracks are some of the best that I have heard. For example, "redrum" shook my life with its catchy beat and immaculate flow. This song captures a lot of the vibes that 21 was putting out in 2018 with his famous album i am > i was. He also incorporates a different vibe than usual through his features of Doja Cat, Brent Faiyaz, and Summer Walker. Hearing R&B-inspired 21 Savage has healed something in my heart that I have been missing for a while. Usually, I would say that features don't always make an album good, but the way he incorporates all of the features into american dream while keeping both his signature style and the features style is truly beautiful. Included in these features are Travis Scott and Metro Boomin as well within "neé-nah," a funky, catchy rap song that I predict will rise on the Hip Hop charts within the next couple of weeks. The production value on this whole album blew me away, only proving more that 21 Savage cannot make a bad song. I am looking forward to overplaying this album for all of 2024 with no regrets. Thank you, Mr. Savage!
Sounds Like:
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
Drake
Metro Boomin
Recommended Tracks:
redrum
should've wore a bonnet
see the real
Reviewer’s Name: Fae Campbell
Date of Review: 1/16/2024