Last Halloween, the new 21 Savage, Offset and Metro Boomin album “Without Warning” came out. This trap album brought an intriguing blend of 21 Savage’s “mumble” rapping style and the Migos beats, all laced with a Halloween theme.

Offset, along with Quavo and Takeoff, is most famous for being part of the Migos, the most popular rap group on Spotify. All the Migos are related and grew up together in Atlanta. They started making music in 2009, became a band in 2010 and released their first big hit “Versace” in 2013.

The album was a big hit, like all of 21’s recent work, but not many people know anything about him. At a glance, 21 Savage is a scary rapper who sings about guns, drugs and murder in Atlanta, who was picked up by Gucci Mane. Back when he was only Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, the Young Savage was raised right outside of Decatur and went to Dekalb County Schools until he was expelled in the 7th grade for bringing a gun to school.  

21, who is a self-acclaimed gangster, turned to music in 2014 and blew up in 2016 with the help of Gucci Mane. Since then, he has become increasingly relevant with his hit songs, such as “Bank Account”, “X” and “No Heart,” as well as a large part in the #1 song in the United States “rockstar” by Post Malone. 21 Savage and Metro Boomin have been working together for some time now, as well as the Migos as a whole.

Album producer, Metro Boomin, is known most famously for his work with numerous large albums and famous rappers. While he is not from Atlanta, he’d often take the eight-hour drive to work with rappers and producers as a teen, most notably Gucci Mane. Even though his main role in songs are beats, editing and selling, he’s often in the top 100 artists because of the songs his name is tied to. 

The lyrics and beats are smooth and worked in the Halloween theme in many ways from the creepy, trickling background noises, to the well-placed lyrics and themes, “Freddy Kruger, give ’em a nightmare, Soon as you close your eyes, n*****, we right there,” which was something interesting and new for both artists. The credit for these is sure to go to Metro Boomin.

The album is a big success. Almost all the songs were in the Top 50, and several still are.

“Ric Flair Drip”, the most popular of the songs, had neither 21 Savage or the Halloween theme like most of the album. After around a month, it is still the #5 song in the United States according to Spotify. This song came off as repetitive, using a chorus four times with only two verses.

The lines are divided somewhat evenly between 21 and Offset, which ended up being an awkward combination. 21 Savage has always been a mumble rapper, singing about guns, drugs and murder as if he were numb to emotion.

Offset is the opposite. His song, like the Migos, are hyped up, full of light noises and constant clicking. It’s party music, it makes you want to start running around and dancing. When the two styles mixed it adjust the way both artists rap, to the point where Offset didn’t sound like himself. He was, however, still hyped enough to make the whole album somewhat awkward while switching back and forth between artists.

The reason Offset doesn’t sound like himself is because of the lyrics. In “Ghostface Killers” Offset said, “Automatic (auto), automatics, in the trunk, Shoot the maggots, shoot the maggots with the pump.” This sounds exactly like something 21 Savage would say but the Migos scarcely talk about guns.

On the other hand, 21 Savage talked less about guns, which seem to be his favorite topic in other albums. In the end, the album is an interesting and fresh take on all three artists.