How 21 Savage went from ‘straight-A student’ to rapper: “I won the math competition”
American Dream creator 21 Savage has been dubbed by many hip-hop fans as a mumble rapper, and some would assume that he’s just a dumb emcee. However, he was actually a straight-A student at high school and was one of the smartest people in his class.
While speaking to Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast, Savage unveiled that he used to be an avid learner until he realised that his status as a former illegal immigrant in the United States meant that he wouldn’t be able to secure a high-wage job or even go to college. As such, he then gave up.
21 Savage explained how he won his school spelling bee with the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and wasn’t at all considering a music career. Still, once it dawned on him that his immigrant status would stop him from succeeding in the ways that were necessary to have a steady income, he turned to the streets.
Recalling his high school days, 21 Savage told Sharpe, “I was an excellent student up until a certain grade. We was just talking about this last night. We was playing the game, and they was like, ‘Spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,’ and it was crazy cause I won the spelling bee in fifth-grade spelling that same word. And I won the math competition that same year.”
In another world, the rhymer may have ended up as a mathemetician. However, this wasn’t to be. Speaking about the grades he used to get, the Atlanta lyricist reflected, “So I used to get all A’s, but like, up until a certain point. I feel like when I found out, like really just realised like no matter how good I do in school, I can’t go to college because I’m an immigrant. I can’t get a job. I can’t get a driver’s license. I feel like once that started to kick in, I kinda just gave up and just stopped caring. I used to go to school fall asleep in class like just do all types of shit.”
Savage immigrated to the US from the UK when he was still an infant, and during his conversation with Sharpe, they revisited his time in London. Speaking about his childhood, the rapper told Sharpe, “I remember, like, small things but not a lot. Like, little small things like going to my grandma’s house or being with my momma. I remember going to the stores across the street. … I remember more from when we back and visited because we went back once to visit when I was a little older.”
21 Savage’s immigration status only came to light in 2019. In 2019, the Atlanta act was held in an ICE immigration detention centre. As his unfortunate predicament played out, fans discovered Savage was, in fact, born in the UK.
The Her Loss creator was born in Plaistow with West Indian roots and a family from St Vincent, Dominica, and Haiti. 21 Savage moved to the US when he was only seven years old and has always considered himself an Atlanta native. However, after returning to the UK for his uncle’s funeral, he returned to America on an H-4 visa, but following its expiration, he remained.