Drake and 21 Savage got all of us by surprise after their recent announcement during 21’s birthday on October 22nd about their upcoming collaboration album called Her Loss, which was set to come out last Friday. Fans have learned the title of the upcoming project through the new music video for “Jimmy Crooks” featuring 21 from the late Honestly, Nevermind album. The track debuted at number 1 on Billboard Hot 100.
Some fans had predicted the collaboration after Drake’s unannounced appearance at 21 Savage’s Atlanta concert. The album was postponed until November 4th due to producer Noah ‘40’ Shebib catching COVID-19 while mixing and mastering the project. Drake announced: “our brother @ovo40 got Covid while mixing and mastering the crack so he’s resting up”.
While waiting for the project, we wanted to take a look at other recent well-favored collab albums and remember the best moments from Drake and 21 Savage’s relationship.
Drip Harder – Lil Baby x Gunna
Drip Harder, a collaborative mixtape between Lil Baby and Gunna created a lot of buzz back in 2018. With famous guest appearances from Drake, Young Thug, NAV, and more, the project also included production from Tay Keith and Turbo among others. “Drip Too Hard” was the lead single that reached #4 on Billboard Hot 100 and actually became Gunna’s highest and Lil Baby’s second-highest charting release. There were mixed reviews as some said that the mixtape could have been more polished, but regardless multiple critics agree that this duo is one of the “best rap duo in years” and the mixtape remained a fan favorite.
Favorite track: Drip Too Hard
Last Ones Left – 42 Dugg x Est Gee
One of the more interesting duo moments was back in April this year when 42 Dugg and Est Gee dropped their duo mixtape. There was – and is – unexpected yet exciting chemistry between these two. HotNewHipHop’s Aron A.’s words described the collab quite succinctly and accurately: “a sweet spot between the guttural sounds of Louisville and the icy production of Detroit that ties together through a mutual understanding of a universal code of the streets”.
Favorite track: “Thump Shit”
Without Warning – 21 Savage x Offset x Metro Boomin
Speaking of 21 Savage, how can we miss this one? Without Warning was released in 2017 without warning and produced heavily by Metro Boomin alongside Dre Moon, Bijan Amir, Cubeatz, and Southside. Travis Scott and Quavo also appeared in the first two tracks “Ghostface Killers” and “Rap Saved Me”. The project reached #4 on Billboard Hot 200 and was liked overall by the reviewers. This was the second time fans have heard two together since “Start Dying” back in 2015 even though both have collaborated multiple times several times. Perhaps ‘Start Dying” was the spark that caused Without Warning.
Favorite track: “Ric Flair Drip”
Drake and 21 Savage’s Past
It was once again 21’s birthday back in 2016 when Drizzy called him “a young October king with all the juice right now” and he gifted 21 a Ferrari. That was also when both parties shared their first collab with the world; “Sneakin’” from More Life, where Drake mentioned his rap beefs with others, meanwhile “Atlanta Grim Reaper” backed him up. That was the same moment in time when “Fake Love” was being blasted in clubs all around the world.
Another hit by both legends was the R&B leaning “Mr. Right Now” from Savage Mode II which came out during 2020 featuring 21’s long-time collaborator Metro Boomin. This was the same track where Drake announced in his lyrics that he dated American singer SZA back in 2008 -or more correctly 2009, as 2008 was there for rhyming purposes- and took the internet by storm: “Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08 / If you cool with it, baby, she can still play”. The track was more of a romantic ballad as opposed to what we are used to hearing from 21 Savage.
A more recent and loved collaboration was “Knife Talk” from Certified Lover Boy which came out last year, also featuring Project Pat and produced by Metro Boomin and Peter Lee Johnson. The track created a big hype with its famous sample from “Feed the Streets” by Metro Boomin with Juicy J, Project Pat, and A$AP Rocky: ”I gotta feed the streets, my pistol gon’ bleed the streets / Ski mask on my face, sometimes you got to cheat”. “Knife Talk ” stands as the second-best Drake x 21 Savage collab after “Jimmy Crooks”.
“Jimmy Crooks” referring to Drake’s character Jimmy Brooks from the Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation was the only track featuring a guest in Drake’s 7th -and riskier- dance/disco studio album Honestly, Nevermind produced by famous South African DJ Black Coffee, Gordo, and frequent collaborator 40. Similar to “Knife Talk”, “Jimmy Crooks” starts with a sample from “Just Awaken Shaken” by Playa Fly (1999), making us wonder if Her Loss will follow a similar path highlighting the unique gems in hip-hop history through heavy-hitting samples.
What Do People Expect?
After Her Loss was pushed back a week, fans ran to Twitter to tweet to voice their sadness. A lot of users said they could not wait any longer. Although some people were skeptical about the project, the majority seems to be quite enthusiastic about it. As one fan said:
“It is 21 and Drake, c’mon! And their features are always amazing. Both of them in an album? It is bound to be a banger.”
It is undeniable that Drake and 21 Savage have an unexplainable musical synergy, and 21 Savage might be on his way -or already is- to being Drake’s one of top collaborators. We certainly cannot wait to hear what Her Loss has to offer.