Since entering the game, 21 Savage has been focused on generating generational wealth. Now, he's embodying the phrase "no rap cap" as he turned the title of one of his biggest singles into a program to teach his fans financial literacy.
On Wednesday, Feb. 27, 21 Savage expanded his 21 Savage Bank Account Campaign to increase the tools and resources for young people, with the goal to boost financial literacy across the country. With the help of his partners Get Schooled and JUMA, Savage plans to teach a monthly online seminar that will help viewers invest in their future.
"Each month I'll release a new badge on GetSchooled.com where you can go deep into making money, credit, saving, and investing," Savage explained in a video that described the campaign for potential online participants.
The first lesson will release this month and focus on making money. The courses will extend until May, and are just one part of the campaign as a whole, which is to feature 21 Tips to Achieve Financial Literacy and Text Help.
Savage, who will be your Money Making Mentor, wants to hyperfocus his efforts in Atlanta. With JUMA, Savage will help recruit "150 youth who are disconnected from school and work, or at risk of disconnection" to receive training and employment at JUMA's working concessions at Suntrust Park and Mercedes Benz Stadium, as well as financial capability support.
In March, 21 Savage will host a bank account-opening event, and has committed $15,000, so each of the 150 youth that Juma employs in Atlanta can receive a $100 deposit into their bank account.
During an interview with the New York Times, Savage explained why he takes financial literacy so seriously.
"I think financial freedom made me grow as a person," Savage said. "I did it as soon as I had the resources and the time. ‘Cause when you first start making money, it’s like you still figuring yourself out. But then it’s like, OK, we a machine now. Now we can get everybody else right."
Although this seems like a kind-hearted and innovative way to uplift his community, for Savage, this decision to continue his activism could come with a target on his back.
According to the New York Times, after his performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Jan. 28, where he debuted an added verse to his record "A Lot" that targeted Trump's immigration strategies, Savage caught the attention of officials in Washington, D.C.
"There was scuttlebutt after the Jimmy Fallon show" coming from "some very high levels in Washington," Savage's attorney Dina LaPolt told the Times after claiming, "We had heard that they were looking at him."
On Feb. 3, 21 was arrested and sent to an ICE detention center where his immigration status was exposed.
Yet, Savage is not apprehensive about angering the government again. He let it be known that he will not stop fighting because he knows he's not fighting alone.
"It's like putting bulletproof glass in front of a bulletproof vest," Savage said. "I'm going to stand up already, this vest already going to stop any bullet you throw, and y'all going to come help and put some glass in front of it too? This can’t be stopped. We a tank now. We was already the army — now we coming in tanks."
