At a time when everyone is being kept inside, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin have been laboring away at their highly anticipated follow-up to 2016’s Savage Mode. Both parties have teased its release in the past few weeks specifically, though there hasn’t been an exact update of sorts on when we could expect the project to arrive.

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In a recent Instagram Live, 21 Savage revealed that the project was on the way but the reason that it’s delayed is that he’s perfecting it and tuning it to his liking. “Savage Mode 2 on the way, man. You know, I gotta perfect my shit. Shit takes time. I be putting a lot of hard work into my shit. I ain’t just about to drop anything,” he explained. “My shit gotta be hard so it’s gonna take me a little longer, you know what I’m sayin’?”

Despite the fans demand for the project, 21 Savage did make it clear that he’s only humans with as many hours as everyone else and that on top of music, there are other things that are on his plate, as well.

Shortly after the Live, Metro Boomin’ ultimately fielded a question regarding 21 Savage’s presence on Twitter. “He been working hard,” Metro Boomin said.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more music from 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. Check the clip below. 

Over three years have passed since Metro Boomin & 21 Savage fused to spark Savage Mode, a mixtape gem that was heavily circulated four years ago thanks to singles such as “X” & “No Heart.” Sand has passed through the hourglass of Savage’s career since he released what might be his edgiest collection of songs; a composition that came to define his signature sound. But with the emcee facing growing popularity and budding mainstream appeal, some of that edge seems to have been shaved off. 

21 Savage seemingly hinted at a release date for Savage Mode 2 on Instagram earlier this week: Friday the 13th. How fitting, as the pair combine to create an ominous and menacing soundtrack for the trap’s underworld. Even after the success of Savage Mode, the marriage between Metro and 21 continued to be a magical big bang of cosmic forces – culminating in banger-filled projects like Not All Heroes Wear Capes & Without Warning with Offset. Metro’s dark beats bring out the best of Savage. The musical architect frequently utilizes piano solos on top of strings and other subtle, almost indistinguishable sounds reminiscent of a double cello or bass. The audacity and braggadocios bars of Savage go perfectly over Metro’s spooky foundation. But considering the rapper a different artist now than he was at the tail of the last decade, how might the sequel differ from its predecessor? 

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It can’t be denied that I Am > I Was found Savage exploring en entirely new style of production. Consider how hit single “A Lot,” produced by DJ Dahi & J White Did It, employs the psalms of a chorus sampled from “I Love You” by East of Underground, which itself samples 1970s trio The Fuzz. Moving into Savage Mode 2, it’s likely we see an updated perspective and evolved musical direction. A merger of both the classic 21 Savage sounds and his new-found tone. Each has a place in his catalog and if blended appropriately has the potential to be brimstone hot. I expect we get more of the creative and imaginative delivery from the rapper with a bit less character than on his last album, I Am > I Was. The effortless and spectacularly unenthusiastic bars only Savage-level swagger can pull off. The variance of his inflection is mesmerizing. He does a phenomenal job of not letting his voice get too mundane on any song. Not to mention exquisitely placed ad-libs to enhance the listening experience. Peep the penultimate verse from “Mad High” for reference.

Pull up on a back street, roll the window down
Pull up on a back street, another n***a down
That AK47 turn your smile into a frown
Bitch I’m from the street, I turn a seven to a pound
I left my baby mama and I went and got a model
You can’t get no guala if you don’t know how to swallow
What the bombaclot, I feel like Oscar ’cause I’m a shotta
You say you gettin’ money what you using as your product?
I hit my first lick and I spent that shit on Prada
N***a sneak dissin’, I got shots for all your partners
Bitch I’m from the six, I eat soul food, not Benihanas
I keep that 223, I knock your head out of your Honda 

ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. 21 even named a song on his last album after the term. His voice invokes a euphoric tingling prefacing a transient state of escape into the music. He does an exceptional job of creating aura and atmosphere by crafting everything from the beat to his delivery to match his chosen vibe. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for his actual ability to spit. When that’s his focus on a brief section of a track, he does damage to the notepad. But don’t expect overwhelming lyricism from Savage, as the rapper has said he’s never going to fixate on being the most lyrical. As such, it’s unlikely Savage Mode 2 will see vast improvements in that department. 

Whether you like it or not, you can plan to expect R&B singing from an increasingly melodic Savage — how Metro will merge this sound into the overall consistency of the project is something that should be interesting to see. Speaking again on their musical chemistry, Boomin does a great job of dropping the beat almost entirely to allow 21 space to perform these vocal theatrics; an example of this can be heard on “Do Come Outside.” We can also expect to hear the theme of growth from the rapper who has had several life experiences since the release of Savage Mode. The artist admitted that the project was an acceptance of where he’s been with an eye toward the future. Despite allusions to a more serious tone, hopefully we can expect more of the foolish belligerency that makes Metro-Savage collabs so entertaining. The first chapter started off with the lyrics “F*ck her in my rollie, f*ck her in my rollie, Imma f*ck her in my rollie.” I mean, that’s the Savage we want to hear.

Since garnering a load of press in 2019, Savage has been fairly quiet thus far in 2020. Will he move forward as a greater emcee than he was before his most widely recognized album? We will all find out soon enough.

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There was a time in which the production work of Metro Boomin singlehandedly altered the musical landscape, deftly conjuring spooky trap bangers and handing them out like Halloween candy. Atlanta artist 21 Savage took an immediate liking to Metro's brand of dark banger, his own preference for minimalist horror-film violence making him a well-suited counterpart. Before long the pair dropped Savage Mode, an album many still feel to be 21 Savage's best body of work. Now, days after Metro Boom decried the current state of hip-hop, he's making it abundantly clear that the anticipated Savage Mode 2 is on the way. 

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Doubling down on an initial announcement tweet, Metro shared a behind-the-scenes picture of himself and 21 in the studio, presumably wrapping up the sequel. Though we have yet to hear any actual music, a gambler might surmise that the vibe will be either brooding, ominous, menacing, essentially a combination of similar adjectives. While it's unlikely they will look to reinvent the wheel, the crazy thing is that Savage Mode is already a few years old, making the sound almost nostalgic by nature -- expect them to go back to basics on this return trip, and why wouldn't they?

While the announcement of Savage Mode II is exciting in itself, it's equally thrilling to see an inspired Metro Boomin plotting a 2020 takeover. Between this and his upcoming No Auto Durk project with Lil Durk, look for him to make a major splash in this shiny new decade. 

Metro Boomin isn’t too excited about the current state of hip-hop. In a brief post to his Instagram stories, the Atlanta superproducer expressed his discontent with new music today.

“I be hearing new music all the time and just be sitting there like,” he penned before inserting an emoji with a straight face. “Ni–as either don’t really care anymore or I’m just getting old.”

Interestingly enough, his comments arrived this weekend at the tail end of a number of drops from some of hip-hop’s biggest names. Nonetheless, Metro will soon find himself injecting his own originality after returning at the forefront of a few high-profile projects. Currently, he’s working with Lil Durk on a collaborative No Auto Durk project that will find the Chicago emcee resorting to the same flow popularized on his track of the same name. 

In addition, Metro has also reportedly been hard at work with 21 Savage on Savage Mode 2. The duo first dropped its predecessor in 2016, housing breakouts such as “No Heart” and the Future-assisted “X.”

They reprised the role by adding Offset to the mix with 2017’s Without Warning. However, Savage Mode notably made room for no features outside of Future’s guest appearance. In the interest of sticking to formulas, it will be interesting to see what 21 and Metro cook up as a unit this time around.