Issa Album is the debut studio album by American rapper 21 Savage. The album was released on July 7, 2017, by Slaughter Gang and Epic Records. It 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).
The album was supported by the lead single, "Bank Account". Issa Album charted at number two on the US Billboard 200, and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Video Issa Album
Background
On February 9, 2017, 21 Savage announced the title of the album. On June 29, 21 Savage revealed the album's cover art, along with the release date. On July 2, 2017, 21 Savage confirmed the album's producers.
Maps Issa Album
Singles
The album's lead single, "Bank Account", was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 8, 2017. The song peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Critical reception
Issa Album received generally positive reviews from critics. 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. 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." Exclaim!'s M.T. Richards wrote that "Savage's strength of feeling against certain people cannot be overstated." 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"." 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."
Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews.com 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." 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." In a mixed review, AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung stated: "Overall, Issa is a competent statement that demonstrates promise from the young rapper." Brian Josephs of Spin said, "Issa Album needn't be The Infamous, but it could've benefitted from a clearer and tighter direction." Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound criticized the "repetitive odes to getting high, getting laid, and getting lots of money."
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. On October 19, 2017, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units.
Track listing
Credits were adapted from Tidal and XXL.
Notes
- ^[a] signifies a co-producer
- ^[b] signifies an uncredited co-producer
- "Whole Lot" features additional vocals by Young Thug
Sample credits
- "Bank Account" contains a sample of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's original composition "Flashbulbs".
- "Thug Life" contains a sample of "Something He Can Feel", written by Curtis Mayfield and performed by En Vogue.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal and XXL.
Charts
Certifications
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments
