''Savage Mode II'' is a collaborative studio album by
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
-based rapper
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...
and American record producer
Metro Boomin
Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap.
R ...
. It was released on October 2, 2020, and was previewed through a trailer with narration by
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
. The album serves as a sequel to the duo's extended play ''
Savage Mode
''Savage Mode'' is a collaborative extended play by Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage and American record producer Metro Boomin. It was released on July 15, 2016. The EP was self-released. The EP received acclaim from critics, with ''Rolling Stone' ...
'' (2016). It features
guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...
s by
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
,
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, and Savage's cousin
Young Nudy
Quantavious Tavario Thomas (born December 17, 1992), known professionally as Young Nudy, is an American rapper. Thomas is best known for his mixtapes ''Slimeball'' (2016), ''Slimeball 2'' (2017), and '' Slimeball 3'' (2018), and his collaborativ ...
. On October 19, 2020, a
chopped and screwed
Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...
version of the album was released by
OG Ron C and
Slim K.
''Savage Mode II'' received widespread acclaim and debuted atop the US
''Billboard'' 200, becoming 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's second US number-one album. It was supported by two singles: "
Runnin" and "
Mr. Right Now".
Background
Metro Boomin first announced the project in July 2019, after 21 Savage brought him out on stage during a concert. Speaking to the crowd, Metro simply stated that ''Savage Mode II'' was on the way. On February 18, 2020, the producer
tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
a photo of himself and Savage in the studio. The caption for the picture read "MODE". On March 3, 21 Savage reposted a fan's Instagram story that the project would be released on March 13. In May, Savage stated that they were making sure the album is "perfect" before being released. The project's release was officially announced on September 28, with the duo confirmed the release date and previewing the album with a horror-themed,
"macabre" trailer directed by Gibson Hazard, narrated by actor
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
; he recorded his contributions onto his
iPhone at his home. The visual contains in-studio scenes of the pair, as Freeman informs viewers of the meaning of "savage mode": 'Savage' is defined as 'fierce, beastly and untamed'. 'Mode' is defined as 'a way of operating or using the system'. So to be in 'savage mode' is to go hard, not allowing anything to stop or deter you from your mission. Basically, this means when someone is in 'savage mode', they're not to be fucked with". The announcement came a week after fans launched a petition urging Savage and Metro to release the album. It garnered over 28,000 signatures.
Cover art
Metro Boomin unveiled the album cover on September 29 on his social media, with the caption: "Boominati Slaughter Gang taking over for the 2020 and the 21," recalling
Juvenile's line "Cash Money Records taking over the 99 and the 2000" from his single "
Back That Azz Up
"Back That Thang Up" (or the uncensored version "Back That Azz Up") is a song recorded by American rapper Juvenile featuring fellow American rappers Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne. Produced by Fresh, it was released on June 11, 1999, as the second ...
". The cover was created by
Pen & Pixel
Pen & Pixel Graphics, Inc is a Houston, Texas-based graphics design firm that specializes in musical album covers, especially for gangsta rap artists in the Southern United States. For a long time, it was the house design firm for No Limit Recor ...
, who came out of retirement for the design.
It is a "nostalgic" and vintage artwork, "heavily" inspired by those of
Cash Money and
No Limit Records
No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mia X, ...
and is a nod to the "bling rap" album covers of the 1990s.
Promotion
A promotional website for the album was created, featuring a live countdown to the project's release and a phone number that listeners could call to hear snippets of the tracks.
The music video for the song, "
Runnin", was released on October 2, 2020. It was sent to
rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...
radio on October 13, 2020, as the album's dual lead single, along with "
Mr. Right Now", featuring Canadian rapper
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
, which was serviced to
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
radio. The music video for "
My Dawg", was released on October 7, 2020.
Critical reception
''Savage Mode II'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 81, based on 10 reviews.
Aggregator
AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...
gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
In a positive review, Dhruva Balram of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' wrote that "As a whole, the album is confirmation of two young artists at the top of their game, watching the landscape unfold from the throne they earned themselves four years ago".
Robin Murray of ''
Clash'' praised the "crisp and future-facing" production from Metro Boomin, as well as the rap performances by 21 Savage. He concluded: "''Savage Mode 2'' matches ruthless entertainment to phenomenal artistry, a collaboration that works on a number of levels."
Charles Lyons-Burt of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' said, "It's Metro, though, who elevates 21's stories to something approaching greatness. ... This sequel is a ratification of the "bigger and better", an example of steady improvement through impeccable craft".
Rashad Grove from ''
Consequence
Consequence may refer to:
* Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment''
* In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior
* Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...
'' enjoyed the album, saying, "21 Savage, accompanied by the golden touch of Metro Boomin, have given the hip-hop world their most well-rounded project to date, and they set the bar high for others to measure up to".
''
Paste'' critic Trey Alston said, "''Savage Mode II'' is a worthy successor to the original, building on that initial moment that made 21 Savage a household name. Adventurous, introspective, and thoughtful, it's just what the world needs from the rapper at this moment, even if we didn't know it".
Mark Elibert of ''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' said, "The
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
winner shows he continues to be ambitious as an artist while keeping up the ''
Slaughter King'' mantra he ran with early in his career. For Young Metro, ''Savage Mode II'' asserts there's no rust on his boards and proves he's still one of the best architects in the game".
Reviewing the album for ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'', Alphonse Pierre stated: "The first ''
Savage Mode
''Savage Mode'' is a collaborative extended play by Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage and American record producer Metro Boomin. It was released on July 15, 2016. The EP was self-released. The EP received acclaim from critics, with ''Rolling Stone' ...
'' didn't become an ATL classic because of celebrity cameos or ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' numbers; it was because Metro and 21 were at the peak of their powers, and only the producer is close here. 21 Savage is just along for the ride."
Steve "Flash" Juon of ''RapReviews'' said, "The 44 minutes of this album could exist without Mr. Freeman, but they couldn't exist without Metro Boomin. ...
1 Savage'sa solid RAPPER through and through and in an era of singers I'm always going to appreciate that, but if I said I could ignore the banality of ''Savage Mode II'' lyrically I'd be lying".
In a lukewarm review, ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
''s Jacob Carey wrote, "Whether they hit the mark with their sequel is debatable. While ''Savage Mode II'' is by no means a lacklustre album, it may not be the exact product their fans hoped for".
Year-end lists
Commercial performance
''Savage Mode II'' debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 with 171,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...
s (including 22,000 pure album sales).
This became 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's second US number-one debut.
The album also accumulated a total of 200.1 million on-demand streams of the album's songs during that week.
Track listing
Notes
* signifies an additional producer
Sample credits
* "Intro" contains elements from "Magnus", written and performed by Richard Hill and Douglas Mackay.
* "Runnin" contains elements from "I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)", written by
Michael Masser
Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...
and
Pamela Sawyer, as performed by
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
.
* "Many Men" contains elements from "Tomorrow Is So Far Away", written by
John Padgett, as performed by
Chromatics; and elements from "
Many Men (Wish Death)
"Many Men (Wish Death)" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent, from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). The song samples "Out of the Picture" by Tavares and was produced by Darrell "Digga" Branch, Eminem and Luis Resto. ...
", written by Darrell Branch,
Curtis Jackson III, and
Luis Resto, as performed by
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
.
* "My Dawg" contains elements from "Mystery", written and performed by Bernd Schoenhart.
* "Steppin on Niggas" contains elements from "Nobody Disses Me", written by
Joe Cooley
Joe Cooley (1924–20 December 1973) was an Irish musician known for his traditional accordion music.
Biography
Cooley was born in Peterswell, County Galway in 1924. Both his parents were melodeon players, and Joe began playing accordio ...
,
Rodney Oliver, and Jeffrey Page, as performed by
Rodney-O & Joe Cooley.
* "RIP Luv" contains elements from "Mixed Up Moods and Attitudes", written by
Wallace Childs,
James Epps,
Cleveland Horne
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
, and
Joseph Pruitt, as performed by
the Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
.
* "Said N Done" contains elements from "Touch Me Now", written by Terry Alexander, Wayne Braithwaite, Barry Eastmond, and
Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...
, as performed by Stephanie Mills.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
Performance
* 21 Savage – main artist
* Metro Boomin – main artist
*
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
– narration (tracks 1, 2, 6–8, 13–15)
*
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
– featured artist (track 4)
*
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
– featured artist (track 5)
*
Mariah the Scientist
Mariah Amani Buckles (born October 27, 1997), known professionally as Mariah the Scientist, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut studio album ''Master'', on August 23, 2019, with her now former labels, Canadian rapper Tory Lane ...
– additional vocals (5)
*
Young Nudy
Quantavious Tavario Thomas (born December 17, 1992), known professionally as Young Nudy, is an American rapper. Thomas is best known for his mixtapes ''Slimeball'' (2016), ''Slimeball 2'' (2017), and '' Slimeball 3'' (2018), and his collaborativ ...
– featured artist (track 9)
Instrumentation
* Peter Lee Johnson – strings (tracks 1, 5, and 7), keyboards (tracks 1, 6, 7, 12, and 14), guitar (track 5)
* Siraaj Rhett – horn (track 11)
* XZ – guitar (track 14)
Production
* Metro Boomin – production (all tracks)
* Prince 85 – production (tracks 1 and 12)
*
Southside Southside or South Side may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region
Canada
* South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...
– production (track 3)
*
Honorable C.N.O.T.E.
Carlton Davis Mays, Jr. (born April 8, 1981), professionally known as Honorable C.N.O.T.E., is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter.
Mays started producing at the age of 15 in the Benton Harbor Area of Michigan, before moving to At ...
– production (track 3)
* David x Eli – production (tracks 4 and 6)
* Peter Lee Johnson – additional production (tracks 5, 7, 9, 12, and 14)
*
Allen Ritter
Allen Raphael Ritter (born June 19, 1988) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has produced for a variety of artists, most notably Drake ("Controlla"), Travis Scott (" Pick Up the Phone"), Kanye West (" All Day", " Father Stretch M ...
– additional production (track 6)
* Kid Hazel – production (track 10)
*
Zaytoven
Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), professionally known as Zaytoven, is an American trap music record producer, disc jockey, and keyboardist from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Ma ...
– production (track 14)
Technical
* Mike Bozzi – mastering (all tracks)
* Ethan Stevens – mixing (all tracks), recording (tracks 2, 4–7, 10–14)
* Noah Hashimoto – mixing (tracks 4, 6, and 11), mixing assistance (tracks 1, 2, 4, and 6), engineering assistance (tracks 5, 7, and 10–15)
* Braden Daevis – mixing (track 9), engineering assistance (track 8)
* Austin Ficklin – mixing assistance (track 2), engineering assistance (track 15)
* Daniel Sheeshy – mixing assistance (track 3), recording assistance (track 9)
* IbMixing – recording (track 3), recording assistance (track 9)
* Noel Cadastre – recording (track 4)
* Vern – recording assistance (track 9)
* Joshua Harbin – recording assistance (track 9)
* Ryan Youngblood – engineering assistance (tracks 5 and 12)
* Jacob Bryant – engineering assistance (track 7)
* De'Ron Billups – engineering assistance (track 7)
* Kiara Moreno – engineering assistance (track 10)
* Josh Applebee – engineering assistance (tracks 13 and 14)
* Melvin Villanueva – engineering assistance (tracks 13 and 14)
* Nino Villanueva – engineering assistance (tracks 13 and 14)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2020 albums
21 Savage albums
Metro Boomin albums
Albums produced by Metro Boomin
Collaborative albums
Epic Records albums
Sequel albums
Albums produced by Southside (record producer)
Albums produced by Zaytoven
Albums produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E.