Photo of 21 Savage
Photo: Ralph Arvesen from Round Mountain, Texas · CC BY 2.0

Solo Artist

21 Savage

Active2013-present
OriginAtlanta, Georgia
Albums7
Tracks100

Most frequent collaborator: Leland Wayne  ·  42 tracks

Southern Hip-HopTrapAtlanta Hip-Hop
94%
Authorship
Artist

Holds writing credit on 94 of 100 tracks

Does 21 Savage write his own songs?

Yes. 21 Savage writes his own raps and is the credited lyricist on his tracks, delivering them in his signature flat, deadpan style. Like most rappers he performs over beats made by producers, most notably [Metro Boomin](/artist/metro-boomin/), while guests such as J. Cole and Drake write their own verses on his songs.

By the Numbers

7
Studio Albums
100
Tracks Credited
94%
Self-Written
13
Years Active
397
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 94 / 100 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 100 tracks: how many 21 Savage wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

21 Savage has a writing credit94%
94%
6%
Sole author0tracks0%
Co-written94tracks94%
Outside writers6tracks6%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
21 Savage's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 100 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)94%
Composer (music)93%
Producer1%
Performer94%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

21 Savage's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 94%
100%
80%
100%
100%
75%
100%
100%
2017Issa Album
2017Without Warning
2018I Am > I Was
2020Savage Mode II
2022Her Loss
2024American Dream
2025What Happened to the Streets?
Early · 95% written
Mid · 91% written
Late · 100% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

95%
2010s
Issa Album, Without Warning +1 more
93%
2020s
Savage Mode II, Her Loss +2 more

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where 21 Savage sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

21 Savage
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Metro Boomin0%
EXO8%
Britney Spears32%
Morgan Wallen50%
Selena Gomez60%
Destiny's Child69%
Ariana Grande77%
94%21 Savage
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Bank Account
Issa Album
Written by 21 Savage, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Leland Wayne, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
Co-wrote
Ric Flair Drip
Without Warning
Written by Offset, Kiari Cephus, Leland Wayne, Bijan Amirkhani
Outside writers
Rap Saved Me
Without Warning
Written by 21 Savage, Offset, Quavo, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Kiari Cephus, Leland Wayne, Quavious Marshall
Co-wrote
A Lot
I Am > I Was
Written by 21 Savage, J. Cole, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, Anthony White, Shelia Young
Co-wrote
Runnin
Savage Mode II
Written by 21 Savage, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Leland Wayne, Michael Masser, Pamela Sawyer
Co-wrote
Mr. Right Now
Savage Mode II
Written by 21 Savage, Drake, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Leland Wayne, Aubrey Graham, David Ruoff, Elias Klughammer, Jocelyn Donald, Joshua Goods
Co-wrote
Rich Flex
Her Loss
Written by Drake, 21 Savage, Aubrey Graham, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Anderson Hernandez, Brytavious Chambers, Michael Mulé, Isaac De Boni, Jahmal Gwin, Megan Pete, Anthony White, Bobby Session Jr., Clifford Harris Jr., Aldrin Davis, Gladys Hayes, Charles Bernstein
Co-wrote
Spin Bout U
Her Loss
Written by Drake, 21 Savage, Aubrey Graham, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Marquell Jones, Jason Hernandez, Noah Shebib, Tenaia Sanders, Dwayne Armstrong
Co-wrote
Circo Loco
Her Loss
Written by Drake, 21 Savage, Aubrey Graham, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Matthew Samuels, Brytavious Chambers, Noah Shebib, Miles McCollum, Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Anthony Moore
Co-wrote
Redrum
American Dream
Written by 21 Savage, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, London Holmes, Mateen Niknam, Vinícius de Moraes
Co-wrote
Née-Nah
American Dream
Written by 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Jacques Webster II, Leland Wayne, Douglas Ford
Co-wrote
N.H.I.E.
American Dream
Written by 21 Savage, Doja Cat, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, Amala Dlamini, Anthony Jefferies, Douglas Ford, Kurtis McKenzie, Michael Orabiyi, Jonah Stevens
Co-wrote

Discography 7 albums

Catalog covers 21 Savage's four solo studio albums, Issa Album (2017), I Am > I Was (2018), American Dream (2024), and What Happened to the Streets? (2025), plus the three collaborative studio albums on which he is a credited primary or co-headline artist: Without Warning (2017, with Offset and Metro Boomin), Savage Mode II (2020, with Metro Boomin), and Her Loss (2022, with Drake). The 2016 release Savage Mode is classified by his Wikipedia discography as an EP rather than a studio album, so it is omitted, as are his mixtapes and the Spiral soundtrack EP.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

21 Savage100 tracks
LW42 MB42 D17 AG17 AB10 KH10

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. LW Leland Wayne · MB Metro Boomin · D Drake · AG Aubrey Graham · AB Ahmar Bailey · KH Kid Hazel

The Writers & Producers Behind 21 Savage 6 key collaborators

LW
Leland Wayne
Songwriter
Issa Album / Without Warning / I Am > I Was / Savage Mode II42 tracks
MB
Metro Boomin
Producer
Issa Album / Without Warning / I Am > I Was / Savage Mode II42 tracks
D
Drake
Songwriter & Performer
Savage Mode II / Her Loss / What Happened to the Streets?17 tracks
AG
Aubrey Graham
Songwriter
Savage Mode II / Her Loss / What Happened to the Streets?17 tracks
AB
Ahmar Bailey
Songwriter
I Am > I Was / Savage Mode II / American Dream / What Happened to the Streets?10 tracks
KH
Kid Hazel
Producer
I Am > I Was / Savage Mode II / American Dream / What Happened to the Streets?10 tracks

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

21 Savage sits high on the lyricist scale and very high on the composer scale, the standard shape for a sample-based trap rapper. He writes his own verses, so his stage name anchors the lyricist column on his solo tracks, joined by the featured rappers who wrote their guest verses. The composer column runs much wider because his beats lean on cleared samples and interpolations: each track lists his legal name, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, beside the producers, Metro Boomin among them as Leland Wayne, and the original writers of every sampled record.

Quick Facts

  • Real nameShéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, born in London and raised in Atlanta
  • GrammyBest Rap Song for 'A Lot' featuring J. Cole (2020)
  • No. 1 collab'Jimmy Cooks' with Drake debuted at number one on the Hot 100
  • Key partnershipTwo Savage Mode projects with producer Metro Boomin
  • Immigration caseDetained by ICE in 2019 over his UK birth, granted a green card in 2023
  • Studio albumsFour solo albums plus collaborative records with Drake, Offset, and Metro Boomin

Creative Fingerprint

A rapper who writes his own verses over other people's beats: 21 Savage anchors the lyric credits on his tracks while producers like Metro Boomin build the music, with guests adding their own bars.

The Story

21 Savage, born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is a British rapper raised in Atlanta, Georgia, known for a flat, deadpan delivery set against dark trap production. He broke through with the 2016 EP Savage Mode, built with producer Metro Boomin, and made his name as a solo artist with Issa Album (2017) and the chart-topping I Am > I Was (2018). He writes his own verses and works repeatedly with a tight circle of producers led by Metro Boomin, Southside, and Wheezy, while his songs draw on cleared samples and interpolations that bring the original writers into the credits. His collaborative albums with Offset, Metro Boomin, and Drake widened his audience, and his solo records American Dream (2024) and What Happened to the Streets? (2025) extended a run of number-one albums.

Awards & Recognition

Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, 'A Lot' featuring J. Cole (2020)
Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Performance, 'Rockstar' (2019)
'Jimmy Cooks' with Drake debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (2022)

Frequently Asked Questions 21 Savage

Does 21 Savage write his own songs?
Yes. 21 Savage writes his own raps and is the credited lyricist on his tracks, delivering them in his signature flat, deadpan style. Like most rappers he performs over beats made by producers, most notably [Metro Boomin](/artist/metro-boomin/), while guests such as J. Cole and Drake write their own verses on his songs.
Who is 21 Savage?
21 Savage, born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is a rapper who was born in London and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He broke through with dark, minimalist trap music and became one of the genre's biggest stars in the late 2010s and 2020s.
Who wrote 'A Lot'?
'A Lot' was written by 21 Savage with a guest verse from [J. Cole](/artist/j-cole/), who wrote his own part, and it samples East of Underground's 'I Love You.' It appears on 2018's I Am > I Was and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.
What are 21 Savage's collaborative albums?
He has released three major collaborative albums: Without Warning (2017) with Offset and [Metro Boomin](/artist/metro-boomin/), Savage Mode II (2020) with Metro Boomin, and Her Loss (2022) with [Drake](/artist/drake/). These sit alongside his solo studio albums.
Did 21 Savage win a Grammy?
Yes. 21 Savage won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2020 for 'A Lot' featuring J. Cole. He was also nominated for Record of the Year for his feature on Post Malone's 'Rockstar' in 2019.
Why was 21 Savage detained by ICE?
21 Savage was born in London and moved to the United States as a child, and his visa had expired. He was detained by ICE in February 2019 over the overstay, and after a legal battle he was granted a green card in 2023.
How many albums has 21 Savage released?
He has released four solo studio albums, Issa Album (2017), I Am > I Was (2018), American Dream (2024), and What Happened to the Streets? (2025), along with the collaborative albums Without Warning, Savage Mode II, and Her Loss.
Who produced 21 Savage's biggest songs?
Producer [Metro Boomin](/artist/metro-boomin/) is his most important collaborator, producing the Savage Mode projects and much of his early work including 'Bank Account.' 21 writes the raps while Metro and other producers build the beats.

Sources

Wikipedia: 21 Savage Wikipedia: 21 Savage discography