Issa Album

Issa Album is the debut studio album by 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
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 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]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bank Account", was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 8, 2017.[4] The song peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Other songs

"Issa" featuring Young Thug and Drake, was a planned single to be released on Savage's album.[6] On December 19, 2016, Young Thug posted a video confirming that he will collaborate with 21 Savage on his debut studio album.[7] 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.[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year64/100[9]
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[10]
Metacritic70/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Consequence of SoundC+[13]
Exclaim!8/10[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.[11] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[10] Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as 64 out of 100, based on 11 reviews.[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."[14] 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."[12] 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 of Sound criticized the "repetitive odes to getting high, getting laid, and getting lots of money."[13]

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 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.[24]

Track listing

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

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
  • "Whole Lot" features additional vocals by Young Thug

Sample credits

Personnel

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

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for Issa Album
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[48] Platinum 80,000
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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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. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  3. "Metro Pierre Southside Wheezy Mustard". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  5. "21 Savage Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  6. "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.
  7. "Young Thug Previews A New Collaboration With 21 Savage". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. "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.
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  10. "Issa Album by 21 Savage reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  11. "Reviews and Tracks for Issa Album by 21 Savage". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. Yeung, Neil Z. "Issa Album – 21 Savage". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  13. Graves, Wren (July 11, 2017). "21 Savage – Issa Album". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. Richards, M.T. (July 14, 2017). "Future Islands: The Far Field". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  15. 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.
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  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.
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