The slaughter king strikes. $7500 on a Saint Laurent jacket; trust, he got wild Ms in his bank account. 21 Savage got to the upper echelon of pop culture with a chain of well received mixtapes (meme makers also helped, and s/o Amber Rose), and Issa Album is the ATL rapper's official debut album. And it will keep him there for some time to come. He's not exactly "lyrical" in the traditional sense, but 21 has the most addictive bars (not talking xans here, but he also got those)—"I bought a 'Rari just so I can go faster (skrrr)." Again, he's no lyrical miracle, but his earnest, true-to-self tales of substance usage ("percocets and lean, that's my dosage (facts)"), sexual encounters ("yeah, suck me like a lollipop, baby girl / ride that dick and do the bunny hop, baby girl."), and earning/spending of money (how many Ms again???), delivered in his signature deadpan voice, is truly compelling trap magic. And of course, add young Metro (plus some other names like Pi'erre Bourne, Southside, Zaytoven, DJ Mustard, and 21 himself!)'s midas touch on the beats… ISSA WRAP. Highlights: "Bank Account," "Numb," "7 Min Freestyle," "Bad Business," and "Famous."

• music label: Epic 2017

reviewed by nakaveli 10/2017