Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage received an official day in his honor during a ceremony held Wednesday evening. Dec. 21 will now be known as “21 Savage Day” in the state of Georgia.
“It means the world to be recognized for what I’m doing, and it feels good to be able to give back to my community,” the 30-year-old 21 Savage said. “The proclamation will last forever, so it’s great that people will know about my work in the community.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain) presented the proclamation of 21 Savage Day to the platinum-selling rapper. The ceremony, held at Wade Walker Park Family YMCA in Stone Mountain, was during the fourth annual Grant-a-Wish event that’s hosted by the rapper’s Leading By Example Foundation and the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. This year, 100 kids in the area received food and gifts during the event. Each kid received three gifts that were provided by the rapper.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Created in 2017, Leading By Example is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the next generation of kids in Atlanta and beyond to lead successful lives and create opportunities for others. After the release of 21 Savage’s hit single “Bank Account” in 2017, the foundation launched a program to teach financial literacy to underprivileged youth. In partnership with Juma, a subsidiary of the Obama Foundation, 150 students get free financial literacy workshops, bank accounts and jobs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium each year. The foundation also hosts an annual back-to-school drive in Decatur.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“It’s the most heartwarming,” said Lorna Loh, executive director of the Wade Walker Park Family YMCA. “Obviously, I can’t thank him enough. There’s a lot of need in this area, so for him to grant the wishes of the kids has been overwhelmingly impactful for our kids and our community. We love 21 Savage.”
Loh said the Grant-A-Wish event started after the rapper called the YMCA about wanting to provide presents for kids in the area. She said 40 kids participated in the first event in 2019.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“(The kids) had no idea,” Loh said about the first Grant-A-Wish event. “We told them to write their wish list. They thought it was just another after-school project or something, so I went and bought all of the gifts, obviously paid for by 21 Savage. When I showed up with the gifts, they were like, ‘How did you know what I wanted?’.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Vannie Jae Walls brought her 10-year-old grandson to Wednesday’s ceremony. Although Walls said she’s been living in Stone Mountain for 17 years, this was her first time hearing about 21 Savage’s Grant-A-Wish event.
“I’m really impressed with how he’s giving back to the community,” Walls said. “What him and the YMCA is doing is marvelous because there needs to be more programs like this in Dekalb County. Any time you can give back to the kids, that’s what’s important. It’s always important to go back to where you started and give back to others and let the kids know that no matter what your circumstances are, there are kids who come from the same situation you’re in and have something to strive towards.”
Deion Dowling, 23, regularly volunteers at the Wade Walker Park Family YMCA. The Stone Mountain native attends Alabama A&M University. He said his favorite 21 Savage song is “Pad Lock.”
“I listen to him a lot, so just seeing him giving back to the community is really special,” Dowling said. “It brought joy to me — seeing him give to the kids I care about. It meant a lot.”
The rapper, born She’yaa bin Abraham-Joseph in London, moved to Stone Mountain with his mom when he was seven. After dropping two mixtapes in 2015, 21 Savage gained prominence with the release of “Savage Mode” in 2016 — a joint project with Atlanta producer Metro Boomin. Since then, the pair has formed one of the most exciting producer-rapper collaborations in contemporary hip-hop (with Metro Boomin lending production credits on all of 21 Savage’s subsequent projects).
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“Issa Album,” 21 Savage’s debut album, dropped in 2017 and peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. His sophomore album “I Am>I Was,” released in 2019, is the rapper’s first and only solo no. 1 album.
During that same year, 21 Savage was detained by ICE, alleging that he was living illegally in the United States after his visa expired. The high-profile case prompted Black Lives Matter to start a petition, under the #Free21Savage campaign, advocating for his release. Jay-Z, Cardi B and other artists publicly condemned the rapper’s arrest and supported the campaign. 21 Savage was later let out on bond and is awaiting trial. If found guilty, he faces deportation and a 10-year ban from returning to the United States.
In 2020, his single “A Lot,” which features J. Cole, won a Grammy for best rap song. In November, the rapper dropped a joint album with Drake titled “Her Loss,” which peaked at no. 1.
