Issa Album
A drawing of 21 Savage wearing a red jacket and holding a white cup. A pile of hundred dollar bills is in front of him and burning palm trees are behind him. The word 'Issa' is superimposed in front of him.
Studio album by
21 Savage
ReleasedJuly 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
Genre
Length56:30
Label
Producer
21 Savage chronology
Savage Mode
(2016)		 Issa Album
(2017)		 Without Warning
(2017)
Singles from Issa Album
  1. "Bank Account"
    Released: August 8, 2017

Issa Album is the debut studio album by British-American rapper 21 Savage. It was released on July 7, 2017, through Slaughter Gang and distributed by Epic Records. The album features production from frequent collaborator Metro Boomin, alongside Southside, Pi'erre Bourne, Zaytoven, Wheezy, DJ Mustard and 21 Savage himself. It succeeds 21 Savage's collaborative EP with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode (2016).

Issa Album was supported by the lead single, "Bank Account". The album charted at number two on the US Billboard 200, and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Background

On February 9, 2017, 21 Savage announced the title of the album.[1] On June 29, 21 Savage revealed the album's cover art, along with the release date.[2] On July 2, 2017, 21 Savage confirmed the album's producers.[3]

Promotion

"Issa" featuring Young Thug and Drake, was a planned single to be released on Savage's album.[4] On December 19, 2016, Young Thug posted a video confirming that he will collaborate with 21 Savage on his debut studio album.[5] However in May 2017, the original track was leaked online and made many fans unaware of the song being on the album. It is also been confirmed that 21 Savage has scrapped the song from his studio album.[6]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bank Account", was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 8, 2017.[7] The song peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[9]
Metacritic70/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
ConsequenceC+[12]
Exclaim!8/10[13]
Gig Soup73%[14]
HipHopDX3.3/5[15]
HotNewHipHop72%[16]
Pitchfork6.5/10[17]
RapReviews6.5/10[18]
Tiny Mix Tapes4/5[19]
XXL4/5[20]

Issa Album was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 10 reviews.[10] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[9]

In XXL, Scott Glaysher opined that the artist "manages to craft a fairly concise project with Issa Album about all the things that make him such a compelling rapper in today's hip-hop landscape".[20] Exclaim!'s M.T. Richards wrote that "Savage's strength of feeling against certain people cannot be overstated".[13] Corrigan B of Tiny Mix Tapes noted, "Despite expectations, it's an utter joy to listen to—a simple display of what 21 Savage sounds like when he's having fun rapping".[19] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote positively, "Issa Album contains some of 21 Savage's best and most fully realized songs to date—especially "Bank Account" and "Bad Business"".[21] Justin Ivey of HipHopDX stated, "The budding star easily could have played it safe and stuck to a winning formula, which remains a strong suit (i.e. Issa's "Bank Account" and "Close My Eyes"). Instead, he challenged himself to be more musically ambitious. While his experiments didn't produce dynamic results, the positives overshadow the negatives".[15]

Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews said, "For better or worse the album also achieves a certain bland uniformity at times by staying so true to the trap aesthetic and having Metro Boomin produce so much of the music. It's not ill-conceived, it's just that it all winds up becoming a bit monotonous if you don't randomize it and/or mix in some songs by other artists".[18] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork states, "He is so compelling when he digs deeper into his psyche this way, providing more than superficiality, but there aren't enough of these moments to sustain Issa Album, which is as basic as its title".[17] In a mixed review, AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung stated: "Overall, Issa is a competent statement that demonstrates promise from the young rapper."[11] Brian Josephs of Spin said, "Issa Album needn't be The Infamous, but it could've benefitted from a clearer and tighter direction".[22] Wren Graves of Consequence criticized the "repetitive odes to getting high, getting laid, and getting lots of money".[12]

Commercial performance

Issa Album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 77,000 album-equivalent units, of which 22,000 were pure album sales.[23] On November 24, 2020, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of one million units in the United States.[24]

Track listing

Issa Album track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Famous"
3:54
2."Bank Account"
3:40
3."Close My Eyes"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Wayne
Metro Boomin4:52
4."Bad Business"
2:42
5."Baby Girl"
Pi'erre Bourne2:49
6."Thug Life"
Metro Boomin4:23
7."FaceTime"
3:59
8."Nothin New"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Wayne
  • Dotson
  • Metro Boomin
  • Zaytoven
3:39
9."Numb"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Wayne
Metro Boomin4:31
10."Dead People"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Luellen
  • Southside
  • Jake One[b]
2:27
11."Money Convo"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Wayne
Metro Boomin3:33
12."Special"
Wheezy3:37
13."Whole Lot"
5:13
14."7 Min Freestyle"
  • Abraham-Joseph
  • Wayne
  • Metro Boomin
  • Southside[b]
7:11
Total length:56:30

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an uncredited co-producer

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and XXL.[25][26]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Issa Album
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[47] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[48] Gold 10,000‡
United States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Yes, 21 Savage's New Album is Actually Entitled 'Issa Album'". DJBooth. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ "21 Savage Reveals Cover, Release Date for 'Issa Album'". XXL. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Metro Pierre Southside Wheezy Mustard". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ "21 Savage Says 'Issa' Ft. Drake & Young Thug Was Left Off His Album So It Starts Some Controversy". HipHop-N-More. July 20, 2017. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Young Thug Previews A New Collaboration With 21 Savage". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  6. ↑ "21 Savage's "Issa" Featuring Young Thug And Drake Won't Be Officially Released". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. ↑ "21 Savage Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Issa Album by 21 Savage reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks for Issa Album by 21 Savage". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Yeung, Neil Z. "Issa Album – 21 Savage". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Graves, Wren (July 11, 2017). "21 Savage – Issa Album". Consequence. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Richards, M.T. (July 14, 2017). "Future Islands: The Far Field". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ Colvert, Andrew (July 10, 2017). "21 Savage 'Issa Album'". Gig Soup. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  15. 1 2 Ivey, Justin (July 13, 2017). "Review: 21 Savage Attempts To Stretch His Musical Wings On "Issa"". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  16. ↑ Walker, Angus (July 13, 2017). "21 Savage's "Issa Album" (Review)". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  17. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon (July 12, 2017). "21 Savage – Issa Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Juon, Steve "Flash" (July 11, 2017). "RapReviews.com Feature for July 11, 2017 – 21 Savage – "Issa Album"". RapReviews. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  19. 1 2 B, Corrigan. "Music Review: 21 Savage – Issa Album". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  20. 1 2 "21 Savage Shows Growth Isn't Only in His Bank Account on 'Issa Album'". XXL. August 4, 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  21. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (July 19, 2017). "In New Albums, 21 Savage and Playboi Carti Go Against the Flow". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ Josephs, Brian (July 14, 2017). "Review: 21 Savage Hits the Limits of Nihilism on Issa Album". Spin. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  23. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (July 16, 2017). "21 Savage & Haim Debut in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  24. 1 2 "American album certifications – 21 Savage – Issa Album". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. ↑ "Credits / Issa Album / 21 Savage". Tidal. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Listen to 21 Savage's 'Issa Album'". XXL. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – 21 Savage – Issa Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – 21 Savage – Issa Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – 21 Savage – Issa Album" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  30. ↑ "21 Savage Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 28.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 42, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – 21 Savage – Issa Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  34. ↑ "21 Savage: Issa Album" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 28, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – 21 Savage – Issa Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Charts.nz – 21 Savage – Issa Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  38. ↑ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 34, 2017". VG-lista. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  40. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  41. ↑ "21 Savage Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  42. ↑ "21 Savage Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  46. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – 21 Savage". Music Canada.
  48. ↑ "Danish album certifications – 21 Savage – Issa Album". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
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