50 Cent is hailing 21 Savage’s success after the platinum-selling rapper name-dropped the G-Unit icon as an inspiration.
During his press run to promote his latest album American Dream, 21 Savage stopped by Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay on YouTube, where he openly discussed his life story from moving to the U.S. and his relationship with his parents, to getting shot and losing his brother. In one segment of the interview, the rapper was asked about 50 Cent, who’s notorious for his own story of getting shot nine times. Savage revealed that Fifty was “a thousand percent” one of his inspirations.
“I looked up to [Fifty] growing up too, for sure. ‘Cause he told his story more than a lot of other artists. He had a movie and all this type of sh*t so I knew his story a little more. I was inspired by his story,” Savage told Shannon Sharpe. He added that he started rapping seriously after he got shot. “That’s when I really just started trying to rap for real. I had made songs playing around and sh*t with friends but that’s when I started putting my money into it.”
Fifty caught wind of his mention in the interview and shared the snippet on Instagram. In the caption, the TV producer and rap star waxed lyrical about the new album and appeared to reveal his favorite track. “He got the hardest sh!t out right now Track 5 Sneaky [facepalm emoji],” 50 Cent wrote. “Stop playing for [ninja emoji] start booming sh!t,” he added, seemingly inspired by the track.
Fans weighed in on the subject in the comment section, where many agreed that the track and album overall were definitely the best thing out right now, while others spoke of Fifty’s influence.
“Facts been bumping sneaky for the past 3 days,” one fan wrote. Another gave credit to the entire album and its author, writing, “The Album is def the hottest sh*t out right now! The man’s always been beastly with this rap sh*t.” Another fan commented, “50 inspired [a lot] of people 21 jus first to admit it,” while others called for a collab with comments like “We need a song with 50 and 21 on it for the people that can relate.”
21 Savage’s American Dream is spending its second frame at No.1 on the Billboard 200 after debuting atop the chart last week. The surprise album arrived on January 12 and earned the rapper his biggest opening week ever across his solo titles. The album moved 133,000 equivalent units in the U.S. in its debut week, with 4,500 being pure sales. It has also earned the rapper his biggest streaming week for a solo album, with 169.53 million on-demand official streams.
21’s latest body of work marks his fourth consecutive No. 1 album as it follows his critically acclaimed joint album with Drake, Her Loss from 2022, the uber-successful Savage Mode II with Metro Boomin in 2020 and his previous solo effort I Am > I Was which opened with 131,000 equivalent units earned and on-demand official streams of 151.87 million in 2019 to top the Billboard 200 chart.
Savage’s new album American Dream is poised to become another certified hit, joining his previous No. 1s, which are certified Gold, Platinum, and 2x Platinum.
