Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known professionally as 21 Savage, was born in the London Borough of Newham on October 22, 1992 to parents of Dominican and Haitian descent. He and his mother moved to the United States when Savage was seven years old, residing in East Atlanta, Georgia. In June 2005, he briefly returned to the U.K. for his uncle’s funeral before quickly returning to the U.S. less than a month later on an H-4 visa.
Savage first gained musical notoriety after releasing the underground hit “Picky” in November 2014. The following year, he released three The Slaughter Tape, Free Guwop, and Slaughter King.
After a massive 2015, Savage was included in the 2016 XXL Freshman Class. The cover was revealed on June 13, 2016. A month later, on July 15, 2016, Savage released Savage Mode, a collaborative EP with Metro Boomin.