Photo: Getty Images
A$AP Rocky says he's on board with 21 Savage's controversial movement that recently sparked a debate among Hip-Hop's key players.
On Wednesday, January 28, Esquire's Editor-in-Chief Michael Sebastian sat down with the Harlem rapper to discuss the elements of his new album Don't Be Dumb. During their conversation, Sebastian asked Rocky what inspired the album's title. He said there were several meanings behind the title. One of them is a call-out to his last album Testing, which was about crashing out. This led him to discuss the movement 21 Savage launched in December.
“A lot of rappers are starting to say, ‘F**k the streets. I got trauma. F**k the streets,’” he said.
“All of these guys that were portrayed as, you know, gangsta and street dudes are now coming out and just being like, ‘You know what? This whole s**t is rigged," he continued. "This is make-believe. Kids, we've been, you know, selling y'all a lie because we, you know, had a blindfold over our eyes. And Don't Be Dumb embodies all of that.”
21 Savage initially said "f**k the streets" in his message to Young Thug and Gunna in his attempt to get them to squash their beef. His new motto spread among other artists like Pooh Shiesty, YFN Lucci, G Herbo, and Thugger himself — though it hasn't led to any kinf of resolution between the former collaborators just yet. Shortly after his post went viral, 21 hopped on his Instagram Stories to clarify exactly what he meant.
“When I say f the streets I’m talking about the part that gave me trauma and made me can’t sleep at night," he wrote." If you ain’t tired of that part you ain’t been through it!”
Despite his point of clarification, other artists like Fivio Foreign, Blueface and Boosie Badazz believed 21 wanted to disassociate himself from street culture altogether. "Next time say f*c yo street lol I’m not shaking none of you n****s hands back stage no more I never thought I’d see the day n****s saying f*c the streets for a 21 savage feature f**k da industry !" Blueface wrote.
"The streets keep me movie and keep me and mines good. And guess what.. I better not see’n 1 n***a from the streets supports nobody that say f**k the streets idc who yu are nobody get a pass in my eyes," Fivio Foreign declared.
Not much has come from the movement since it started. That hasn't stopped the slogan from gaining traction among some of the biggest names in the rap game.