21 Savage – ‘What Happened To The Streets?’ review

Despite the deadpan threats and caustic stunt talk that have defined his oeuvre since his mixtape days, 21 Savage has long shouldered laments that clash with his A-list standing. As his stock soared, the London-born, Atlanta-bred rapper was forced to navigate an ICE arrest, the untimely deaths of close friends, and a fractured ATL still reeling from the fallout of the YSL trial. All of it seems to have him wondering what went wrong on his fourth album, ‘What Happened To The Streets?’.

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From the jump, the Slaughter King continues his run of fiery intros with ‘Where You From’, a gritty headnodder where he pledges allegiance to East Atlanta’s Zone 6 (“Like my n***a Nudy, I’ll never leave the 6”) while sliding over a sinister Southside and Wheezy beat. As he reminisces about “growing up in the madness”, Sav’ also sidesteps industry beef between two frequent collaborators (“Pussy, don’t ask me about Metro or Drake”)

The erosion of street code weighs heavy on ‘Stepbrothers’, a trap banger featuring cousin Young Nudy where 21 threatens to “control-alt-delete” all the “pillow talkers” glorifying “all the wrong shit”. Meanwhile, he and Lil Baby rue the regression of the ATL rap scene in the wake of the YSL case on ‘Atlanta Tears’, bristling at outsiders shaping narratives and realities they had lived through (“Internet nerds tryna tell us how the streets feel”).

While 21’s villainous drawl lends itself to more promises of violence, he’s self-aware enough to realise he only copes through substance abuse. On the Metro Boomin-assisted ‘Gang Over Everything’, he confesses that his “heart got colder” after loss but is unable to function without “talkin’ to codeine”. It’s both his solution and problem, emphasising that all his bravado is a smokescreen hiding his survivor’s guilt. The grief refuses to loosen its grip on standout ‘Code Of Honor’, where keys, strings, and snares combine to haunting effect. G Herbo joins Sav’ in mourning fallen loved ones (“Larry got killed with his mama, I broke into pieces”) before snapping back to battle mode (“I’ma up this bitch and blam soon as you get to reachin’”).

However, 21 leaves the Rugers and hollow points at home for ‘I Wish’ – an introspective requiem where he wishes things were different for Nipsey Hussle, Young Dolph, Takeoff, Pop Smoke, Rich Homie Quan, and more. Despite a sappy hook and an ill-advised R. Kelly sample, it’s a sincere moment that reminds us of the tragedy hip-hop has endured over the past decade, and cements Sav’ as an artist capable of more than just monotone menace.

‘What Happened To The Streets?’ doesn’t musically reinvent trap the way its more cinematic predecessors did, but the new record showcases 21 Savage’s duality – an ascendant star perpetually wrestling with demons. He doesn’t exactly answer the titular question, but instead documents its decay: the fading G code, the mounting casualties, the self-destructive methods to numb the pain. The album doesn’t search for solutions so much as serve as an autopsy report, delivered by someone who’s endured the mayhem long enough to tell stark truths.