21 Savage

London-born and Atlanta-based rapper She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, aka 21 Savage, has had quite an interesting year, to say the least. First, he was nominated in two Grammy Award categories for his feature on the Post Malone hit song “Rockstar.” Then, days before the Grammy Awards ceremony, ICE agents detained and threatened him with deportation back to the UK. Throughout all of that, however, his J.Cole-assisted double-platinum single, “a lot,” indomitably rang from Bankhead to Brixton. The song, heavily sampled from East of Underground’s 1971 soul ballad “I Love You,” is a harmonic bridge between trap heads and true-school haters that acts as a saving grace against his other non-provoking material. But 21’s likeability is also due, in part, to his resilience, resistance, and past romance with Amber Rose. So at least celebrate these things while you can.