21 Savage hits back at critics after denouncing gun violence in Atlanta: “I just rap about what I’ve been through”

nme.com:

21 Savage has elaborated on his perspective regarding hip-hop lyrics and gun violence, after his own were brought up when calling for an end to gun violence in Atlanta earlier this week.“Atlanta we have to do better[,] put the f****** guns down,” tweeted the rapper, who grew up in Georgia, on Monday (August 8).

While many were supportive of 21’s comments, one fan brought up lyrics from his recent Drake collaboration ‘Jimmy Crooks’, quoting the rapper’s line: “Spin a block twice/Like it ain’t nowhere to park.”Replying to the fan directly, Savage defended his work, arguing that a song “is for an entertainment” and is “not an instruction manual on how to live life.” He continued: “In real life I give away a lot of money and spread financial literacy to my community.

Stop trying to make me 1 dimensional.”A Song Is For Entertainment It’s Not An Instruction Manual On How To Live LifeIn Real Life I Give Away A lot Of Money And Spread Financial Literacy To My Community Stop Trying To Make Me 1 Dimensional— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage) August 8, 2022The rapper has since given a more detailed response, hitting back at critics who labelled him a hypocrite. “When I say something about how I really feel about Atlanta, where I’m from, it’s a lot of gun violence,” the rapper said recently while live on Instagram.“[There are a] lot of killings and shootings going on.

I ain’t never seen nothing like this. My whole life, being in Atlanta, I ain’t never seen it at this point that it’s at right now,” he added. “It makes me depressed.“But when I speak up on that, they say, ‘Oh, you a hypocrite, you this, you that.’ I ain’t never promoted violence.