A Few Highs Can’t Save What Happened To The Streets From Getting Lost in the Shuffle

Released: December 12, 2025

One of the highly touted rappers of the 2016 XXL Freshman class, which has been fondly remembered by many as one of the best—featuring highly successful spitters like Dave East, Kodak Black, and Denzel Curry—21 Savage has already managed to carve out a career that many aspiring rappers strive for.

What Happened To The Streets marks his fourth major studio release, following up 2024’s American Dream. This year, there seems to be some added pressure following a string of lackluster releases from other Atlanta heavy hitters. Unfortunately, 21 seemingly continues the recent trend of mediocre releases coming from “The A.”

21 Savage made his debut during a time when drill and the triple cadence flows, à la The Migos, were dominating the landscape, which in turn made his laid-back style unique and fresh. However, this cadence and his somewhat limited subject matter can hold back the potential of the artist’s projects, and this album showcases those limitations.

21 shines on heavy bass production and soul samples, with the highs being the middle of the project on tracks like “Code of Honor” and “Gang Over Everything.” The opening tracks lean into a more mainstream sound; and while not terrible, they didn’t really move the needle for me. Furthermore, the ending, featuring a remake of R. Kelly’s “I Wish,” while well-intentioned, probably should not have made it past the cutting room floor.

The features on this project were about even as far as hits and misses. The least surprising “surprise” was probably the Latto-assisted “Pop It,” given the revelation of their long-speculated relationship. While Latto, in my opinion, held it down (maybe even edged 21 on the track, to be honest), the track itself was a bit too poppy for my taste.

G. Herbo continued his excellent run on “Code of Honor,” which was one of the best tracks on the album, and GloRilla laced “Dog $hit” with her patented Memphis drawl. On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed with the Nudy and Drake features. While not terrible, the tracks they were featured on felt generally underwhelming.

I also would have liked to have more of the production handled by Metro Boomin. While the production on this album was solid, featuring names like Coupe, Southside, and the trap legend Zaytoven, “Gang Over Everything” highlights Metro and 21’s unmatched chemistry. (Also, by the way, that Gucci sample on “HA” was fantastic, but it should have been used as the main hook—sometimes you gotta understand the assignment.)

Overall, I feel like a 21 Savage project can only fly as high as the production, and while this project has enjoyable moments, there just isn’t enough here to elevate it above an average album for the artist. The amount of good-to-great albums we’ve gotten this year also tends to make a project like What Happened To The Streets get lost in the shuffle. While there are a few highlights that will definitely make it to my playlist, this album continues the trend of “alright” releases from the A-Town.

Standout Tracks: “HA”, “Code of Honor”, “Gang Over Everything”, “Halftime Interlude”

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑👑 (6.5/10)