The two things that bring 21 Savage the most happiness are music and flying.
When he finds time between recording albums, he is still in pursuit of making his affinity for the open a bigger part of his life. He’s only logged 10 hours of flying miles so far, but 21 has already mapped out what he will do once he obtains his pilot’s license.
Following his show at Pier 17 in New York City on Thursday night, he tells Complex that he wants to buy himself a private plane and launch a program for others who dream of exploring. “I'm going to open up a pilot school in my area where kids can go to pilot school out of high school,” he reveals.
Number one would have to be 21 Savage. Number two is Jay-Z. Number three is Biggie. Four is Young Nudy. And my number five would probably be Nipsey Hussle.
21 Savage took the stage at Pier 17 after announcing his partnership with Tequila Avión for their new campaign, “Depart. Elevate. Arrive.” Launched in celebration of the brand’s new look, the campaign pays homage to the adventurers who knock down barriers along the way. “Borders, they separate people,” 21 says in a new video launched by the brand this week. “It denies them access to other things in life that I feel like everybody should be able to experience.”
The message is perhaps a reference to his high-profile deportation case, which made him a political symbol in the last year. Aside from that, he also recently concluded his fourth annual Issa Back 2 School Drive, which supplied more than 2,300 Atlanta students with school materials. And last year, he launched the 21 Savage Bank Account Financial Literacy Campaign. The initiative that teaches children about managing their money and generational wealth.
“If you an artist and you only seen your home town or your city, your art might not reach its full potential,” he tells Complex, explaining how the new campaign gives him another chance to encourage youth to explore. “When I’m able to tour the world, I’m going to have some more stuff to talk about. As a rapper, I have to go do things to be able to speak about them.”
We’ll hopefully get to hear about some of those new experiences on his next project (he recently hinted that Savage Mode 2 with Metro Boomin is on the way). When we sat with him backstage, he remained tight-lipped on what exactly is in store, but he assured fans that new music is “coming soon.”
He did, however, share his top five rappers of all time, and you may be surprised who made the cut.
“Number one would have to be 21 Savage. Number two is Jay-Z. Number three is Biggie. Four is Young Nudy. And my number five would probably be Nipsey Hussle.”
