Savage Mode II (2020)

Savage Mode II is a collaborative studio album by rapper 21 Savage and American record producer Metro Boomin. It was released on October 2, 2020, and was previewed through a trailer with narration by Morgan Freeman. The album serves as a sequel to the duo's extended play Savage Mode (2016). It features guest appearances by Drake, Young Thug, and Savage's cousin Young Nudy. On October 19, 2020, a chopped and screwed version of the album was released by OG Ron C and Slim K.

Savage Mode II received widespread acclaim and debuted atop the US Billboard 200, becoming 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's second US number-one album. It was supported by two singles: "Runnin" and "Mr. Right Now".

Background

Metro Boomin first announced the project in July 2019, after 21 Savage brought him out on stage during a concert. Speaking to the crowd, Metro simply stated that Savage Mode II was on the way. On February 18, 2020, the producer tweeted a photo of himself and Savage in the studio. The caption for the picture read "MODE". On March 3, 21 Savage reposted a fan's Instagram story that the project would be released on March 13. In May, Savage stated that they were making sure the album is "perfect" before being released. The project's release was officially announced on September 28, with the duo confirmed the release date and previewing the album with a horror-themed, "macabre" trailer directed by Gibson Hazard, narrated by actor Morgan Freeman; he recorded his contributions onto his iPhone at his home. The visual contains in-studio scenes of the pair, as Freeman informs viewers of the meaning of "savage mode": "'Savage' is defined as 'fierce, beastly and untamed'. 'Mode' is defined as 'a way of operating or using the system'. So to be in 'savage mode' is to go hard, not allowing anything to stop or deter you from your mission. Basically, this means when someone is in 'savage mode', they're not to be fucked with". The announcement came a week after fans launched a petition urging Savage and Metro to release the album. It garnered over 28,000 signatures.

Cover art

Metro Boomin unveiled the album cover on September 29 on his social media, with the caption: "Boominati Slaughter Gang taking over for the 2020 and the 21," recalling Juvenile's line "Cash Money Records taking over the 99 and the 2000" from his music video for "Back That Azz Up". The cover was created by Pen & Pixel, who came out of retirement for the design. It is a "nostalgic" and vintage artwork, "heavily" inspired by those of Cash Money and No Limit Records and is a nod to the "bling rap" album covers of the 1990s.

Promotion

A promotional website for the album was created, featuring a live countdown to the project's release and a phone number that listeners could call to hear snippets of the tracks.

The music video for the song, "Runnin", was released on October 2, 2020. It was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on October 13, 2020, as the album's dual lead single, along with "Mr. Right Now", featuring Canadian rapper Drake, which was serviced to urban contemporary radio. The music video for "My Dawg", was released on October 7, 2020.

Critical reception

Savage Mode II was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on 10 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.