21 Savage’s “What Happened to the Streets?” album feels cold and exhausting 

“Where you From,” the first track on 21 Savage’s most recent alum, opens with dogs barking over a sinister beat, setting a dark tone. A sudden gunshot sound introduces a low, repetitive bass beat that continues throughout the song. This structure reflects a trademark 21 Savage style, where a distinctive introduction is followed by a repetitive rhythm, paired with an unhurried, plain style of rap. 

21 Savage’s fourth studio album What Happened to the Streets? relies on simplicity and repetition for its lyrical and stylistic choice. Rather than dramatizing 21 Savage’s experience on the streets, he raps plainly, almost mechanically. An approach that gives the album a dark tone, but a concern becomes whether musical restraints can ruin the album or make the lyrics more meaningful. 

21 Savage’s vocal approach across the album is defined by minimalism. Unhurried and flat delivery shifts focus more on the lyrics. By rarely shifting his flow of rap, Savage gives his record a cold and blunt quality, that reflects his detached perspective on the streets. This consistency in delivery creates a deliberate numbing effect across the album. 

That emotionless delivery is most apparent on the track “Ha” where a ticking percussion loop replaces the song’s melody and reinforces a detached tone. The percussion loop paired with 21 Savage’s vocals creates tension between the beat and actions described in his lyrics, such as “Glock 40 leave you with a suntan” or “My brother love finessin he a con man.” 21 Savage unsettlingly presents acts of violence and crime as daily life, emphasizing the cold tone of the album. 

A similar approach appears on “J.O.W.Y.H (JUMP OUT),” where Savage delivers his lyrics in a near conversational style. The casual cadence he carries makes it more difficult to imagine the scenes, as the songs offer little musical or emotional guidance. Across the album, 21 Savage’s choice to minimize melody and prioritize lyrical delivery can strip much of the life out of the songs. This approach appears of many of 21 Savage’s other popular tracks such as “Runnin” or “Sneaky” where the songs rely too heavily on monotone beats and delivery. Without changing tones or beats, individual tracks become a blur which makes the album less memorable. 

From a production perspective, the album leans on boring and static beats that make it difficult to remember. Many tracks rely on similar rhythms, which slow down the pace of the album and make time feel stretched. The lack of variation doesn’t allow for Savage’s music to build up and connect with the listener. When there isn’t a connection between a song and its listener, it becomes extremely challenging to get fans to rally behind the album.  

If 21 Savage had introduced a new style of rap in a handful of songs throughout the album, it would find itself being less blurry. A simple change in tone, pace or intensity would easily provide contrast, improving the album. To maintain a dark tone for the record, 21 Savage could find a balance of cold delivery and expressive tones to tell a story through different styles of rap and beats. Solving the issue of repetitive and dull songs that don’t pop out to listeners. 

The final two tracks, “Atlanta Tears” and “I Wish” provide a change in pace from the album’s consistent tone. The two songs introduce new expressive beats that stray away from the restrained and minimal consistency heard throughout the album. While the songs add a small amount of variety, they mainly highlight a contrast from the rest of 21 Savage’s work. The songs upbeat approach makes the late stages of the album less dull, which gives the listeners a small break from the cold tone of previous songs. “Atlanta Tears” and “I Wish” offer a subtle sense of emotional change, without fully changing the overall atmosphere of the album. 

Despite the end of the album, the emotional numbness feels intentional but becomes exhausting. 21 Savage managed to keep the tracks in a consistent tone, lacking variety or dramatic perspective for his stories. This same consistency blurs many of the songs together, leaving little variation between each of them. “What happened to the Streets?” stands as an example and portrayal of detachment in music, one that is unsettling on purpose but isn’t always engaging in its execution. 

Cover Image: Screenshotted from YouTube by Jack Barkley