One in every of 21 Savage’s earliest forays into letter-writing got here on the penultimate monitor of 2018’s i’m > i used to be, the place he penned an apologetic and appreciative tribute to his mom, Heather Carmillia Joseph, for coping with his teenage mischief. It wasn’t the primary time that he’d revealed such an inside window—all around the album he posited himself as a tormented agent of the macabre, unable to shake the traumatic reminiscences whereas additionally having fun with the spoils of his riches—nevertheless it signified a novel willingness to go lengthy on private soliloquy. On his newest launch, american dream, his mother returns the favor, opening the album with a spoken-word dedication that alludes to the numerous sacrifices she undertook to assist him obtain his wildest desires. As an alternative of nestling the emotional weight away within the nook, 21 makes use of it as a battering ram, bursting by the door to start to attempt to paint the complete image of who he has change into.

And it’s a tall job. 21’s profile has grown in recent times, with a collaborative album and tour with Drake, humanitarian initiatives that made him a neighborhood chief in Atlanta—hell, even the teaser “trailer” credit for american dream learn like an Emmy after-party invite checklist. His third solo album makes an attempt to steadiness reveling in his newfound elevated celeb and retaining the tortured persona that relishes in recounting the grotesque particulars of his journey. This produces some missteps, however the 31 yr previous cuts by the shiny extra with readability and lyrical self-assuredness, producing sufficient sterling moments to indicate that he’s nonetheless a star worthy of fanfare.

The road between ingenious use of samples and cynical nostalgia-bait is skinny; perhaps 21 realized from the disastrous hijacking of Daft Punk on Her Loss’ “Circo Loco.” The crack staff of producers on american dream—together with Metro Boomin, Cardo, Coupe, London on da Observe, and OG Parker—try to string collectively extra moments of concord between 21’s reserved register and the manufacturing panorama, slightly than taking huge swings at grandiosity. Rose Royce lead singer Gwen Dickey’s lilting voice echoes within the background of “all of me,” making a morose area wherein 21 dwells upon the violence and backstabbing he survived to succeed in this stage of his life. The album’s crate-digging finds (like Brazilian singer Elza Laranjeira’s angelic crooning from “Serenata do Adeus” on “redrum”) mesh higher than the simply recognizable tributes (Religion Evans and Okay-Ci loops on “show it” and “ought to’ve wore a bonnet”), however the total cohesion of the manufacturing is a welcome signal.