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I stay focused on moving forward and not letting stuff put me in a hole or make me feel depressed. – 21 Savage
If you’re a hip-hop fan, you’ve likely heard 21 Savage and his hit albums ‘Without Warning’ and ‘I Am > I Was.’ This English/American rapper is one of the hottest talents out of Atlanta, with a net worth of $15 million. He’s one of the new generations of artists out of the Midwest scene, experiencing a meteoric rise in just a few years.
The rapper has three collaborative and two solo albums under his belt, and he’s internationally recognized. 21 Savage has several awards to his name and splits his time between the UK and the US. His time in the two countries made him popular in the UK rap scene and the United States.
21 Savage: The Facts
| Net Worth: | $15 Million |
|---|---|
| 📆 DOB: | October 22, 1992 |
| 🌎 Country of Origin: | United Kingdom, residing in the United States |
| 💲 Source of Wealth: | Rapper |
| ✅ Updated: | 2023 |
21 Savage debuted on the American rap scene, amassing a huge fan base in just a few years. The rapper has a different approach to building wealth than most rappers. He doesn’t believe in wearing expensive jewelry. Instead, he’s not building businesses and giving back to his community.
21 Savage – The Early Years
Born in Plaistow, London, on October 22, 1992, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph is the son of Heather Carmilla Joseph and Kevin Cornelius Emmons. His mother is a British-born Dominican, and his father has Haitian descent.
His parents divorced when he was seven years old. His sisters and grandmother chose to live in England with his father, while Shéyaa moved with his mother to Atlanta. His mom remarried upon entering America, having more children with her new husband.
However, life was hard on the kids growing up in Atlanta, and Shéyaa and his brothers got involved in a life of crime. The rapper’s half-brother, Quantivayus, was shot and killed in a drug deal gone wrong when Shéyaa was in his early teens.
During his education, Shéyaa was expelled and banned from almost every high school in Atlanta for bringing a gun onto campus. As a result, he finished eighth grade through a home-schooling program before dropping out in his freshman year to pursue gang life.
Shéyaa earned money as a teen as a marijuana dealer, developing a reputation on the streets as a hot head. The rapper was shot six times by rival gang members on his 21st birthday, with two of his close friends killed in the shootout.
21 Savage – Career
After coming close to death and seeing his friends perish, Shéyaa decided to change his life. The youth started rapping to distance himself from gang life. The rapper built a huge audience quickly, thanks to his previous gang ties.
Like rappers Snoop Dogg and NBA YoungBoy, he presents an authentic gangster rap image, where he’s lived the life. This authenticity allows his fans to connect with the message in his music, making it real. 21 Savage also got into it with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to his immigration from London as a youngster.
His feud with the agency resulted in the spread of memes online and discussions on message boards like Reddit. This attention only further contributed to his image and popularity. The rapper’s career started to take off as he collaborated with some of the top names in the rap game.
He has friendships and collaborations with Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, and Migos, bringing him into the limelight at the pinnacle of the rap industry. Savage 21 debuted his first mixtape, ‘Savage Mode’ in 2016, with the rapper seeing immediate success.
The rapper was nominated for ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2017 BET awards with just one year of commercial success under his belt. 21 Savage dropped his first studio album in 2017, debuting at Number 2 on the Billboard 200, with the single ‘Bank Account’ landing in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The rapper released the albums ‘Without Warning’ and ‘I Am > I Was,’ bringing the artist his first Grammy Award for the track, ‘A Lot,’ featuring J. Cole. 2017 saw the rapper nominated for 22 awards, winning three.
Few artists experience the breakthrough success of 21 Savage in their first two years in the industry. Typically, it takes up to a decade before a rapper starts to gain traction and build an audience. However, 21 Savage achieved huge success in just two years from his debut, making him one of the biggest success stories in hip hop.
The rapper attributes his success to his hard work ethic and past as a real thug, making him seem authentic to his core fan base. 21 Savage made a name for himself by rapping about his life as a gangbanger on the streets of Atlanta.
His lyrics are full of violence, foul language, and what some might consider domestic terrorism, but it only increases his popularity. 21 Savage also refined his rapping style quickly. The raw sound of ‘Savage Mode’ gave way to a more refined sound in the following albums.
The rapper also knows how to network, co0nnecting with some of the biggest industry names early in his career. The artist not only has a string of successful mixtapes and studio albums. However, he has many collaborations with top names in the rap game, like Post Malone, Lil Uzi Vert, and Migos.
These collaborations further added to his street cred and industry reputation, propelling him into the limelight.
21 Savage – Controversy
Like most other rappers in the game, 21 Savage experienced plenty of controversies. The rapper was born in London, immigrating to the US with his mother during his formative years. Little did he know that this would come back to bite him over a decade later.
In February 2019, 21 Savage US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pulled over 21 Savage on what they thought was a routine traffic stop in Atlanta. The rapper was in a car with his cousin Young Nudy and two of his friends. 21 Savage didn’t know that the other two friends in the car were targeted as part of a string.
The operation was looking to arrest the two men using the ‘Georgia Gang Act,’ charging them with aggravated assault. During the arrest, ICE officers discovered 21 Savage was in the country illegally. As a British national, the rapper illegally resided in the United States after his non-immigration visa expired in July 2006.
In court, 21 Savage was represented by a top legal team. They argued that the rapper acknowledged his overrun visa but had attempted to extend it since 2017, with little success. The case eventually resulted in the court releasing 21 Savage without deporting him back to England.
In February 2019, the rapper turned himself in to the local authorities after discovering a warrant for his arrest for felony theft by deception.
He was held in a south Georgia jail. The charge was due to a dispute with a gig. 21 Savage accepted a $17,000 payment to perform at a concert but failed to appear and kept the money. The rapper had a court date set for 2020, but the rapper settled with the party before the date.
21 Savage – Personal Life
21 Savage dated model Amber Rose from 2017 to March 2018. He has three children, Kamari, Ashaad, and Rhian, with different women. The rapper is not currently involved with anyone and says he prefers to live a single lifestyle.
21 Savage – Assets, Cars, Real Estate
21 Savage got rich almost overnight. In a few years, the rapper managed to amass millions in wealth. He has a 12-car garage featuring some impressive vehicles. Some of the cars in his collection are a Lamborghini Urus worth $220,000 and a Bentley Bentayga worth $185,000. a Mercedes Maybach S650 priced at $200,000, a Chevy Camaro, a Dodge Hellcat, and the prize of his collection, a 488 GTB Ferrari, priced at $303,000.
During the early stage of his career, the rapper invested in several expensive jewelry pieces. However, after meeting with rapper Jay-Z, the artist changed his outlook on money. He said that meeting with Jay-Z changed his mind about money and how to spend it.
Jay-Z also told the rapper that he needs to invest in his health. He recommended spending his money on a chef, lawyer, doctor, and fine art. The rapper had this to say about his decision.
“I eat cleaner. I don’t really gotta leave the house as much, and the doctor is convenient, too. I hate hospitals and s**t. It’s just good to have on call. He got a different level of doctor, though. His doctor and my s**t is different. He got a real doctor. Not live-in, but they’ll come give you surgery at your house.”
In a 2018 Vogue Magazine interview, the rapper said the following regarding his former love for jewelry and expensive items, “everybody wears jewelry. I outgrew it; I’m getting a little wiser and growing. Whenever I meet someone who’s very, very rich, like the wealthy, I’ve never seen them with jewelry. And ever since I’ve been saving money and not spending it on jewelry, I’ve been getting way richer.”
The rapper replaced his penchant for jewelry with real estate investments. The rapper has an extensive real estate investment portfolio bringing him passive income.
It seems that 21 Savage is living under the tutelage of one of the rap game’s biggest and wealthiest stars, and he’s taking the advice to heart. His attitude to money is far from most of the top names in hip-hop, who would rather blow their fortune on material items.
21 Savage – Philanthropy
21 Savage appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote his charitable organization. The success of his track ‘Bank Account’ saw the rapper use it as a platform to benefit his old neighborhood in Atlanta.
The rapper founded the ’21 Savage Bank Account Campaign,’ which assists children with financial literacy, teaching them how to manage money. The rapper has donated $21,000 to the cause. The artist also hosts an annual ‘Back to School’ drive in his local neighborhood in Atlanta.
The drive assists underprivileged kids in the area, giving them free uniforms, school supplies, and even haircuts. 21 Savage also donated $10,000 to an anti-bullying campaign, assisting kids in Atlanta’s Continental Colony Elementary School. 2022 marks the rapper’s 7th ‘Issa Back 2 School Drive’.
21 Savage grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Atlanta, and he wants to steer the youth away from a life of crime by giving them education opportunities. The artist believes that education is the only way to lift oneself out of poverty and gain opportunities in life.
He hopes his contribution can assist with ending the continuous cycle of poor financial illiteracy in Atlanta’s low-income neighborhoods. During the rappers 2021 Back to School Drive, 21 Savage and the event sponsors shared financial literacy resources with kids and gave out uniforms, school supplies, shoes, and headphones.
21 Savage Quotes
You can have all the fame in the world / All the money in the world, won’t stop no cry.
I started doing more positive things, positive things started happening for me.
What you eat don’t make me shit. That might work for you, that don’t mean it’s going to work for me.
If your goals and my goals aren’t the same we shouldn’t be on the same team.
Be smart with your money because money can make life a little easier.
If we know everything that everyone else knows, it’s no stopping us.
It’s always gone be problems. And as soon as we figure out that it’s always gone be like that, everybody gone be able to live a better life.
Hard to tell the real from fake ‘Cause nowadays, they got masks on.
All business partnerships are just me wanting to do things I like to do anyway, so it does not feel forced.
Building Black-owned businesses is a powerful way to shift the narrative—and sustain wealth in our communities.
Stay Ahead of the Market with Benzinga Pro!
Want to trade like a pro? Benzinga Pro gives you the edge you need in today's fast-paced markets. Get real-time news, exclusive insights, and powerful tools trusted by professional traders:- Breaking market-moving stories before they hit mainstream media
- Live audio squawk for hands-free market updates
- Advanced stock scanner to spot promising trades
- Expert trade ideas and on-demand support
