21 Savage

21 Savage, born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph on October 22, 1992, is a British rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in London and raised in the United States, he began recording in 2013 and built an early regional following through three independent mixtapes. His partnership with producer Metro Boomin brought a wider breakthrough with the 2016 EP Savage Mode, which reached number 23 on the Billboard 200. Its singles “X,” featuring Future, and “No Heart” both reached the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40.

Later in 2016, 21 Savage appeared on Drake’s “Sneakin’” and signed with Epic Records in January 2017. His debut studio album, Issa Album, arrived that year and reached number two on the Billboard 200, led by the number 12 Hot 100 single “Bank Account.” He also joined Metro Boomin and Offset for the collaborative album Without Warning. That year, his appearance on Post Malone’s “Rockstar” produced a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single and earned two Grammy Award nominations, for Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Performance.

His second album, I Am > I Was (2018), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album included “A Lot,” featuring J. Cole, which won Best Rap Song at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. In 2020, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin reunited for Savage Mode II, a sequel that also debuted at number one and yielded the top-ten singles “Runnin” and “Mr. Right Now,” featuring Drake.

His work with Drake continued on the 2022 single “Jimmy Cooks,” which became 21 Savage’s first song to debut at number one on the Hot 100 and his second chart-topper overall. Later that year, the pair released the collaborative album Her Loss, 21 Savage’s third project to top the Billboard 200. His third studio album, American Dream (2024), became his fourth consecutive chart-topping project and produced the Hot 100 top-ten songs “Redrum” and “Née-Nah.”

In February 2019, 21 Savage was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after officials disclosed that he was a British citizen who had entered the United States in July 2005 and overstayed an H-4 visa that expired in 2006. He was granted bond and released later that month while deportation proceedings remained pending. In 2023, he became a lawful permanent resident of the United States and received his green card.