One of the first things one hears listening to Savage Mode 2 is not 21 Savage or one of Metro Boomin’s notorious production tags. The first voice on the record is instead, Morgan Freeman, who narrates over half of the songs on this record. Occasionally he will gracefully make an appearance to offer some wisdom on the nature of violence, snitching, or what Savage Mode means. While some found this to be corny, Freeman’s narration actually has two purposes - the first is to obviously flex on the audience with a star actor delivering ideas that you would never expect to hear come out of Morgan Freeman’s mouth, but the other is to add a sense of levity to the record. Since the release of Savage Mode, 21 Savage has gradually incorporated his subtle sense of humor into his music, perceivable only to those that keep a close eye on what Savage is putting down, which admittedly is easier said than done. Though the first track is entirely Freeman’s musings, the album wastes no time getting to the music.
Savage Mode 2 sees 21 Savage and Metro Boomin at arguably the prime of their careers. Though Metro frequently takes time off to ‘retire’, 21 Savage has spent the past 4 years consistently developing as an artist with each release. It is rather strange to think about how the original Savage Mode came out right after 21’s placement on the XXL freshman list in 2016, and now we see him 5 platinum singles later, with placements from artists like Travis Scott, Post Malone, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Offset under his belt. On Savage Mode 2 he shines, delivering hard-hitting raps that no longer need to rely on meme-esque threatening or overly-violent one-liners. 21 Savage demonstrates a versatility that is uncommon to see in an artist his age, flowing effortlessly on desolate bangers like ‘Glock In My Lap’, pop-rap hybrids like ‘Mr. Right Now’ with Drake, and even more laid back and vintage sounding cuts like ‘RIP Luv’, ‘Said N Done’ and ‘Rich N**** Shit’ with Young Thug. Where there used to stand an indulgent one-dimensional rapper, today exists a multifaceted and skilled artist who can hold his own when working with even the most commercially-successful industry heavyweights.
This time around Metro Boomin’s production does not seem as game-changing or innovative, which is not entirely his fault. Over the past few years, Metro has seen his production methods and styles become the industry norm, so much so that at this point songs like this rarely are classified as trap music. A negative side effect to Metro Boomin not being one of the only ones in his lane anymore is that now his style sounds generic - like commercial hip hop. Despite this, Metro Boomin still works against the trends to deliver some hard-hitting and incredibly well-composed mixes, even if seconds after their release he inspires a whole new wave of ‘type beats’ to drop on YouTube.
