21 Savage has set the stage for January 12th with the release of his highly anticipated third solo album, American Dream. This marks his first solo studio album since 2018’s i am > i was, which earned him a #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart and a GRAMMY win.
Adding to the excitement, the album serves as the soundtrack for his debut film, “American Dream: The 21 Savage Story.” Directed by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, and Fam Udeorji, the film explores three generations of 21 Savage amid a personal crisis. The star-studded movie trailer, released recently, offers a sneak peek into the film and features co-stars such as Donald Glover, Caleb McLaughlin, Natasha Lyonne, Jabari Banks, and more, alongside brand-new music from 21 Savage. Get ready for a captivating audio-visual experience on January 12th.
Just weeks after 21 Savage suggested that his new album was coming soon during his first-ever concert in the UK, it appears that the album is arriving sooner than anyone could have thought. Just before the new year, billboards advertising the album began to pop up in Savage’s hometown, Atlanta, and then, earlier this week, Savage and fellow ATLien Donald Glover teasedAmerican Dream: The 21 Savage Story just before dropping a trailer that finds Glover depicting the other rapper with an accompanying album on the way. They’ve since revealed a few more of the details for the album American Dream, which is coming out later this week. Check out everything we know so far below:
Release Date
American Dream is out this Friday, January 12.
Tracklist
The tracklist for American Dream is still TBA.
Singles
No singles have yet been released as of press time.
Features
Features for American Dream are still TBA
Artwork
The artwork depicts an image of a young 21 Savage, presumably take from his expired immigration documents.
Tour
A supporting tour for American Dream is still TBA but on the bright side, fans in Canada, the UK, Europe, and elsewhere will be able to see him now that his immigration troubles have been resolved.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
21 Savage may be a London native, but Atlanta, Georgia, is where his heart is. As part of his forthcoming film, American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, Donald Glover will examine how, in 2019, the rapper found himself in a fierce legal battle with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last month, 21 Savage’s legal issues were put to bed. To celebrate, he took a trip back to the UK for a larger-than-life homecoming concert. During the show, he was on track to release his first solo album in nearly six years. Fans now know this long-awaited music project will serve as the visual’s official soundtrack. So when does the American Dream: The 21 Savage Story soundtrack come out?
Unfortunately, the release details are a bit murky because the webpage linked to his social media pages seems to be broken. But according to 21 Savage’s latest post on X (formerly Twitter), the album is set to be released on Friday, January 12.
The promotional poster and supporting trailer starring 21 Savage, Glover, and Stranger Things actor Caleb McLaughlin show that in the film, viewers will journey through his initial move to the US, Atlanta upbringing, and his rise to fame. Watch 21 Savage’s trailer below.
American Dream: The 21 Savage Story soundtrack is out 1/12 via Epic Records. Find more information here.
Slaughter Gang’s head honcho just announced an upcoming movie on his life titled American Dream: The 21 Savage Story on Sunday (January 7). Given its reveal — a vague post from his and Donald Glover’s (also known as Childish Gambino’s) Instagram accounts — many fans didn’t know how to interpret this. Fortunately, we know a little bit more about this production at press time, so we compiled a breakdown of what you need to know about the film. American Dream: The 21 Savage Story aims to cover his arduous, complicated, but triumphant path of the American Dream which he hinted at during a Rolling Stone interview: from childhood poverty and street dangers to becoming one of the biggest rappers in the world.
First, some background. Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was born in the UK, but moved to Atlanta at a young age. As such, he was raised in the U.S., facing hardened conditions rife with trouble before eventually climbing up the rap echelon. However, even as 21 climbed the ranks, he found himself in the middle of a high-profile case in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him in 2019 for an alleged expired visa.
The “Brand New Draco” MC and his legal team fought for his right to stay, expressed anger at the unjust and punitive system, and brought national attention to this issue. Last year, they finally made him a permanent U.S. citizen and allowed him to leave the States, returning to his native country for a show. With that in mind, let’s dive into American Dream: The 21 Savage Story. If this is all just fake for an album rollout… well played, Savage.
All the information in this section appears in the film’s trailer‘s description on YouTube, and it’s unclear whether these credits are just for the sneak peek or for the full-length product. Nevertheless, the upcoming movie stars the aforementioned Childish Gambino as 21 Savage, and Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin as his younger self. Savage’s connection to Donald Glover is well-documented through collaborative cuts like “monster,” “This Is America,” and “12.38.” In addition, the movie’s trailer (released on Monday, January 8) showcased a host of other actors, including Jabari Banks as (presumably) Metro Boomin. Other “special appearances” from actors include Gail Bean (presumably as his mother), Druski, Chad Lindberg, Victoria Pedretti, Young Mazino, and Natasha Lyonne.
Furthermore, four directors helmed this, including Gambino’s younger brother Stephen Glover, who previously wrote for his older sibling’s series Atlanta. Jamal Olori, Fam Udeorji, and Luis Perez also have directing credits. Stephen Glover and Olori wrote American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, whereas Udeorji and Tara Razavi are listed as producers and executive producers. Happy Place and Gilga are behind the film’s production, as well as Lionsgate, according to the trailer. The veracity of these interpretations is still up in the air.
New Music From 21 Savage
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 22: 21 Savage attends as Latto hosts Hoes Down, Pimps Up birthday affair at The Bank on December 22, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images)
In addition to this film, 21 Savage will also release a soundtrack of music the movie inspired. It’s available to pre-save on streaming platforms right now via American Dream‘s website. Given reports that he’s already working on a new album, this is very exciting news. Fans hope that this isn’t what the 31-year-old meant when he teased new material and that this is just a supplemental project drop until his full-length solo follow-up to i am > i was.
Still, given what we heard in the film’s trailer, it looks like 21 Savage is undergoing another career level-up. The trailer actually doubles as a music video for an unreleased, soulful trap track that tackles his trials and tribulations, as well as showcases his talent and triumph. Not only that, but in the performance parts of the visual, the London-born artist raps to Glover and McLaughlin’s versions of himself. As such, die-hards expect this to be a pretty reflective and cathartic experience.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 8: Rapper 21 Savage attends Young Democrats Of Atlanta Presents A Blue Christmas Gala at Atlanta City Hall on December 8, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images)
American Dream: The 21 Savage Story will release on Independence Day this year (July 4, 2024), according to the trailer’s final frames. But we’re not yet 100% sure if it will only be a theatrical release. After all, it’s very possible that it could appear on a particular streaming service, as that’s the model of choice for a lot of visual projects out there these days. Perhaps the near future will confirm this for fans.
Meanwhile, 21 Savage’s accompanying soundtrack for this biopic will reportedly drop this week on Friday, January 12, according to Billboard. It’s quite far away from the film’s release, which might be a bizarre choice for some listeners and viewers. It certainly contributed to immediate interest in American Dream, and will likely fuel that train until we get it on-screen. What’s more is that this could also be a teaser of what he will offer on his next studio album.
What Do We Expect?
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 30: 21 Savage performs his first ever London headline show at The O2 Arena on November 30, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Burak Cingi/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Already, many fans are talking about American Dream: The 21 Savage Story with a lot of skepticism but also anticipation. This is very understandable: Drake’s Her Loss partner has a pretty spotless catalog when it comes to projects, and Donald Glover is almost a decade older than him. He’s earned Grammy nominations and became a commercially dominant giant. Moreover, he’s undoubtedly culturally impactful and artistically influential. As such, a lot is riding on this product to do him and his journey justice.
For our money, we’d love for these releases (whether it’s a film or just an LP rollout) to encapsulate the emotional heft and nuanced perspective of Mr. Right Now. Maturity, perseverance, and perception are big themes of the trailer and his career, ones that continue to evolve and prove themselves both on and off wax. Finally, this film’s most important mission is to show the world why the low-toned spitter is such an important representative of hip-hop right now, and what makes his story resonate beyond cultural, ethnic, and class lines. Beyond the violence and hedonism lies a crucial narrative of balance, accountability, and community that this movie should champion above the celebrity spectacle. For all these reasons and more, we can’t wait for whatever American Dream: The 21 Savage Story is. Let us know what you think about this rollout in the comments section below.
French Montana says that they lived “the American nightmare” as an immigrant having lived in New York City. The rapper discussed his experience with Page Six on the red carpet for the premiere of his new biographical documentary, For Khadija. Montana immigrated to the United States from Morocco with his family when he was just 13.
“When they showed us the Empire State building — and all the buildings downtown — I thought we were going to live there. But when we came to the states we had to go to [the] Mott Haven projects,” he recalled, referencing the projects in The Bronx.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 16:French Montana attends the “For Khadija” Premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival at Beacon Theatre on June 16, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
“It was a whole different thing. It was a culture shock, it was jungle rules,” Montana said of the time. He added: “I went through every level of struggle, every level of disrespect, every level of not understanding — and every step that was there I was there to take. Whether it was work or school, I just had to go through it.”
Montana also discussed his experiences with bullying. “Yeah of course I was made fun of,” he admitted. “People would just stare at me, but man, I feel like the best teacher in life is failure. And I feel like when you come from the mud, and you have to learn everything from experience, I feel like there is no better teacher than that… I am one of those that learned from experiences.”
French Montana’s Biographical Documentary Is Here
For Khadija premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival at Beacon Theatre, earlier this month. Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Busta Rhymes, Vin Diesel, Eric Adams, and more attended the star-studded event. Diddy and Drake serve as executive producers of the film. Be on the lookout for more details regarding the film’s wider release on HotNewHipHop.
