Atlanta rapper-slash-burgeoning feminist ally 21 Savage previewed some new music via Snapchat recently, and from the sounds of it, his continued association with Amber Rose has made him a sunnier, more upbeat person — or at least, that’s the effect it’s had on his music. You may notice the production in the video above is much brighter than we’re used to hearing from the usually glowering, gloomy, borderline apathetic Savage.
However, the brusque, sexually explicit lyrics may disappoint some who thought that his appearance at his girlfriend’s SlutWalk would soften his language, as he raps lines like, “21 Savage, I be hangin’ where the checks be / I don’t want the p*ssy, little b*tch, just neck me / B*tch, you trying to screenshot a ni**a, don’t text me / I don’t wanna be your boyfriend, I’m your bestie.”
21 is certainly a lot deeper than his stalwartly stoic delivery may imply, but if the preview above is any indication of a new musical direction, it certainly wouldn’t hurt his mainstream popularity, as rap begins to shed its fascination with the guttural, uber-threatening, street life-focused style of trap rap thanks to oversaturation on Youtube and Soundcloud in favor of happier, almost cartoonish trap sounds embraced by Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, 2 Chainz, and Savage himself, on his Foot Locker commercial-backing hit “Bank Account.” The world might just be ready for a kinder, gentler, more-generous 21 Savage.
