Since 2014, 21 Savage and his faithful underground grind gained the 24-year-old artist a loyal and passionate fan base. The “No Heart” rapper has turned that support and adoration into a new record deal with Epic Records, which he says was not just about the numbers.
Savage sat down with Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson and Brian “B. Dot” Miller for their podcast program and ran down some of the details of the deal. One thing that endeared Savage to sign with Epic is that label boss L.A. Reid was a true fan and saw the potential.
“I ain’t wanna just sign on some straight business shit,” Savage said.” “I wanna sign to someone who believes in me and understands me.”
The union could most certainly prove to be fruitful, considering the big 2016 that Savage enjoyed. With the aforementioned “No Heart” going platinum last week and adding the million-selling “X” with Future along for the ride. Adding to the success of his Savage Mode mixtape with Metro Boomin last year, the key for longevity is a simple one for Savage.
Just give them a project every time instead of a single and don’t overflood, don’t drop too much music,” Savage said about maintaining his fans’ interest and giving them what they want. “I see a lotta niggas drop like every other month. You’re giving ’em too much. You gotta let ’em digest and force them to listen to this over and over.”
The 60-year-old Reid is no stranger to seeking out hot talent from the southern region, namely in Atlanta. His industry savvy intuition led him to be instrumental in breaking the careers of Outkast, TLC, Young Jeezy, Ciara, Toni Braxton and Usher.
21 Savage is coming off a bang-up year that saw his career get a jolt from branding and beef alike.
His breakout hit “No Heart” breached the top 25 of HipHopDX’s Most Lit Rap Songs Of 2016 as well.
This idiot kid has ZERO talent
LA Reid believes in this guy as much as he believed in Bobby Shmurda.
The headline should read “21 Savage Inks Record Deal With Epic Records….2 Years Ago and now the company is going to stop pretending that he’s independent.”
Thank you! I cam here to post that exact comment
Haha some of his stuff catchy but he stated his own problem ain’t nobody listening to his stuff over & over it’s to Dr Seuss & formulaic any 5th grader who messes with fruity loops for a few hours can copy plus this add junkie generation don’t have the attention span, they’ll have a new n…. Next week but great move getting that check invest it wisely
Looking fwd to hearing the next thing he does ,
He believes he can exploit you and throw you away when shit hits the fan (which it will) just like Bobby and Rowdy.
Hopefully now he can gets some cars for that imaginary 12 car garage
LA singed Ciara TLC so on and 21 Savage will never equate to any of what those top tier artists have done . He might sell 25k if he puts an album out . Epic records is trash period
Career over in 5, 4, 3, 2…
It’s a knife
Issa knife
he said he signed to 60 year old LA Reid was black and a “true fan”… aww man these kids dont know wassup…..imagine LA Reid listening to some 21 Savage with his family on vaction,… (if he got a family I heard he was gay as f#$k)
What the fuck? How do niggas like this get record deals? Seriously, who’s making and approving these decisions at these record labels?
Some Record labels secretly back so called indie artists, and if they prove themselves marketable, sign them on officially. I’ve heard this straight from the mouth of an indie artist that was touring last year. They want to estBlish an underground fan base first and don’t want biased opinions from the masses off the bat. Real talk.
which explains the whole 22 savage thing, i knew all of that was fake, it was just too much publicitiy around it
What about the other umpteen numbered savages, should sign them all together as a group “The Savage Tards” has a nice ring to it!
Think about this: This clown is now labelmates with A Tribe Called Quest…Phife is rolling over in his grave…