What happened to 21 Savage?
How good intentions lead 21 Savage to undercut his own persona
Ancient wisdom states that a good name is better than precious ointment.
21 Savage has acheived a great deal of success in a short period of time with his debut album and in particular his hit single ‘Bank Account’, in which his take on gangsta rap, remodelled it for the new wave of rap fans.
His biggest problem has risen from his association with the unfortunate consequence of shooting his brand in the foot. When at his ex-girlfriends Amer Rose’s slut walk, he was pictured with a sign that stated a “I’m a hoe”.
If you are branding yourself as a untamed ferocious beast, why then would in the first two years as a mainstream rapper would you then choose to couple that with holding a sign that undercuts your rap name.
It is one thing for it to have been reported that he was at the slut walk. That in itself would have been okay, as in the age of #MeToo, having a rapper make the attempt to understand the issues of sexual harrassment tha women of all backgrounds, sexual orientation, and races face, shows that hip hop trying to improve.
It is another thing for a rapper to be seen in public to be holding a sign that essentially reduces the lethal nature of your brand. In one moment he went from showcasing fierce persona to equating himself with a term— in hip-hop terms, that’s deadly for a male rapper to be associated with.
It is no coincidence that when his manager, tweeted out that 21 Savage was trying to grow up by choosing to invest his wealth more wisely. 21 Savage already kind of stabbed his rap persona, he put his brand next to ‘hoe’ and then attempted to move like everything was still the same.
A name is important and if you invite an overwhelmingly opposing energy to it, you are doing the wrong thing. There a good reason why President Obama did not go around stating he was curse to the enemies of America, his first name meant blessing.
21 Savage could very well revive his brand again, if there was a profession in which brand resurrection was possible it would be in the field of entertainment. If he were to produce another piece of music that impacts our emotions indelibly, then he might just be able to get away with his mistakes. That’s providing his record label and management pours alot of money into an effective public relations campaign.
