BEFORE 21 Savage would hit number two on the billboard hot 200 with Issa Album and number
one on the rap charts with Without Warning
Before he dropped tracks like X, Bank Account and No Heart
BEFORE 21 Savage would shack up with Amber Rose, and collaborate with the likes of Metro
Boomin, Drake, the Migos, Mike Will, Future, DJ Khaled, Rich Chigga, and Post Malone
BEFORE The Slaughter King would opt for a 'Death Before Dishonour' Tattoo on his forehead
and a dagger between his eyes.
21 Savage grew in East Atlanta, where he witnessed his father dealing crack as far back as he
can remember.
At 14 he began selling drugs himself.
He also got his hands on a gun and brought it to school with him in the 7th grade to
teach a kid who was talking shit not to be messing around.
This incident eventually got him kicked out of every middle school in the county.
So this gave him more time to work on his street hustle.
Through his teens he would build a tight knit gang known as '21', and they would also hook
up with the Bloods.
He was dealing out of his home and fathered two kids.
Then on his 21st birthday he and his best friend Johnny got shot.
21 Savage took six bullets including one in his hand and in his neck but managed to make
it out alive.
His best friend wasn't so lucky.
It was then he decided he would need to find a new career and began taking rapping seriously.
Within a year and half he would blow up online and make it onto the XXL Freshman Class List.
What's going on guys my name is Michael McCrudden documenting the life and career of 21 Savage
here for you on Before They Were Famous.
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Let me know as always who you want me to document next.
21 Savage was born Shayaa Bin Abraham Joseph on October 22, 1992.
He was born in the Dominican Republic, but raised in Dacatur, a rough and tough neighbourhood
outside of Atlanta Georgia.
He grew up with four brothers and six sisters, although his younger brother, Tayman passed
away in a shooting that took place after a drug deal.
Shayaa's mother, Heather, was a rock of stability in his life, while his father was crack dealer.
His uncle was killed in front of their home, shot twice in the head when he was only 11
years old.
21 Savage has said it many a time that Atlanta is a savage town, with people getting shot
up.
I'd go into more detail about his family tree and friends but the dude has lost a ton of
people.
Shayaa grew up listening to his idol Gucci Mane, Lotto Savage, Mookie, Madri
Gra, Freaky DSMG.
His favorite albums included Me, My Momma and Them Roaches, Live From Da Carter, Gucci
Mane's “East Atlanta 6” and his favorite of all is Gucci's “Sun Valley”.
He spent his whole life robbing and hustling on the street getting started as far back
as he can remember, he got his own hands on weed and began turning a profit at 14.
While in the seventh grade at Stone Mountain Middle School, he had some beef with another
dude and when he caught word that they were planning to jump him, he decided to bring
a pistol with him to school.
The crew didn't need to jump him anymore, instead they just snitched on him and Savage
got expelled from school.
His mom wasn't happy and told him it was only a 10 day suspension so he eventually went
back to school, but he got in a fight in the hallway with that same dude.
From there, 21 savaged bouced between the Dekalb Youth Development Center and alternative
school.
One time, 21 remembers that someone once left a snickers bar on his cot, which was a common
practice to test if a kid is soft.
His response was to try to beat up the very next kid that entered the room.
But 21 lost that fight.
He was so small at the time, that he had gotten the nickname Lil Man.
He returned to more regular schooling in Gwinnett County in the 9th grade.
There, he played football while on probation but some messing around with some chicks on
a school bus got him kicked out again and this time he was kicked out of attending any
school in the county.
By now he had already established for himself a pretty successful business selling weed
out of his mama's house.
This would eventually expand to include selling crack and committing robberies.
Things were going pretty good, he was able to eventually buy his mom a car and then get
her an apartment.
I think he kept the house.
His close boys all adopted the number of 21 as their gang name and at 16 opted for 21
tattoos, Savage got his on the side of his face.
At 19, his crew, including Johnny, Larry, Krusha, Rock, Lil B, CJ his bro Tayman got
involved with the Bloods but Savage states that he is cool with a lot of Crips, and he
doesn't care much for the long lasting rivalry and stories between the two gangs and refers
to that as an old school mentality.
Business must have been going well because he managed to father two kids that he states
today are his motivation.
He had done some dabbling with rap having made one song with his brother and had got
his hands on a mac computer and a microphone.
Then his brother Tayman robbed a house and found a better computer and microphone so
Savage set those up in his room.
On his 21st birthday, he and two of his friends, Johnny and Larry, went to pick up drugs, but
the situation quickly unfolded into what Shayaa now believes it was a hit.
Bullets started flying and he took six before he was able to return fire.
His friends Johnny and Larry didn't make it.
Not only that, Larry's mother was killed as well.
Shayaa now a father had a lot of thinking to do while he recovered in the hospital.
They also hooked him up with Percasets, and those delicious pain killers he hasn't been
able to get off them just yet.
He decided that his best bet at a future of success and staying alive would be if he forced
his energy into rapping.
A few things had changes, for one 21 Savage had adopted the moniker of Savage which he
came up with while setting up his Instagram account, also he was no longer taking any
shit from no one.
21 Savage got to work, he had some money which provided him with the time but he had no label,
no marketing team, no promotion team he just worked hard and spoke of the real street life
that he had lived through.
But, sadly, it wasn't over.
If you don't know the story of 21's knife tattoo, it's a sad one.
He and his brothers had agreed to get a dagger tatted between their thumb and their index
finger, just like Tony Montana.
But, 21's younger brother Tayman rushed out and opted to have it tatted between his eyes.
All of a sudden tragedy struck again.
His little brother Tayman was killed on March 19, 2014.
Savage hadn't yet gotten his dagger and opted to get his between his eyes in tribute to
his brother.
Savage also paid homage to his departed friends, Johnny, Larry, and his mother, Tamika, with
a giant tattoo featuring their names across his chest.
21's dark trap anthems like “Picky,” the DJ Plugg-produced single soon became a niche
classic among Atlanta locals for its shaky, intoxicating energy.
Soon his mixtape The Slaughter Tape was dropped in 2015.
Followed by Free Guwop, Slaugher King and then in 2016, he would hooked up with Metro
Boomin for Savage Mode.
Savage Mode would include singles, No Heart, and X, which featured Future.
Both those tracks would be certified double platinum.
Also in 2016, 21 would be featured on XXL's Freshman Class List.
The exposure would help develop even more buzz for him in the hip hop community, and
21 would soon go on to feature on tracks by artists like Drake, Mike Will, Post Malone,
Big Sean, Rich Chigga, and many others.
In 2017, he would drop Issa Album, which hit number two on the billboard hot 200, the US
RnB and Hip Hop Chart, and the US rap chart.
His second studio album, Without Warning, with Offset and Metro Boomin, would follow
the same year.
It hit number 4 on the Hot 200, 2 on the RnB and Hip Hop chart, and number one on the US
Rap chart.
21 Savage would also be making headlines in 2017 for his relationship with Amber Rose,
but according to him, that relationship goes back way longer than we all know about.
And from the looks of things, the relationship's been going pretty well.
The two recently bought each other matching diamond encrusted watches.
There have been engagement rumours, and she bought him a fifty thousand dollar promise
ring.
(Check out Rich Life DB for Loyalty ring 21)
On top of that, there are other signs the relationship is healthy.
21 Savage says she has gotten him into some healthier habits, like taking vitamins and
drinking water.
And she told TMZ,
“I demand sex every day from my boyfriend...It's very healthy.”
As for the rest of the story, well, we'll have to wait and see, because this is Before
They Were Famous.
My name is Michael McCrudden and we are working through all your requests on who to do next.
Let me know who you'd like to see featured on the channel.
You can hit me up in the comments, or via instagram or twitter at McCrudden M.