21 Savage was tasked with ranking the best lyricists from Atlanta, and, of course, he placed himself at the top. On Thursday (Dec. 19) evening’s airing of “DeepCut with VicBlends,” the “Bank Account” hitmaker was given a lineup of Hip Hop heavyweights to choose from: Young Thug, Lil Baby, JID and Future.
“I’m No. 1,” he declared. 21 Savage then went on to name Dreamville Records’ JID, with whom he collaborated on the TikTok-viral “Surround Sound” in 2022. Afterward, the Savage Mode artist named frequent collaborator Young Thug at No. 3, while Lil Baby and Future rounded out the list.
However, according to 21 Savage, “If it’s off [of] song-making, Pluto would be No. 1.” See the full clip below.
While 21 Savage’s lyrical skills might be up for debate, his numbers don’t lie. January's american dream debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The 15-song body of work serves as home to records like “n.h.i.e.” featuring Doja Cat, “redrum” and the Travis Scott and Metro Boomin-assisted “née-nah.” Additional guest appearances included Young Thug, Lil Durk, Summer Walker and Burna Boy, among others.
The London-born rapper subsequently hit the road in promotion of the project with "The American Dream Tour." 21 Lil Harold, Nardo Wick and JID joined him as supporting acts, with the trek wrapping up in June.
Earlier in the conversation with VicBlends, 21 Savage reflected on the early success of “Red Opps” and how he’s managed to stay relevant since then. “Keep dropping, but not too much,” he explained. “Just keep building on the momentum because you don’t want it to die out... The year that I dropped the most music of my career was [in] the beginning.” Notably, 2015 saw the release of The Slaughter Tape, Free Guwop and Slaughter King.