21 Savage’s manager Justin “Meezy” Williams said the Atlanta rapper and Drake have never exchanged money when they’ve made music together.
During a lengthy chat on Druski’s ongoing Clubhouse interview series, 21’s manager broke down how Savage will often work with artists and not even think about charging them.
“A lot of the artists, they are low-key peers,” Meezy explained at the 15:40 point of the interview. “So shit just be happening naturally. A n***a might be in the studio, somebody ask, 'Ay, can you do this song?' And it happens, because n***as fuck with each other, so you ain't gonna talk about money.”
He went on to add that it’s especially common with artists who 21 works with frequently, such as Young Nudy or Drake. “Most of the time, when you bring up Drake or Nudy...if Nudy got a song, ain't nobody even thinking about no paperwork if Savage get on something. Or if Savage send Nudy something, ain't nobody thinking about paperwork. We know that's going to get handled whatever,” he continued. “It's relationship-based, a lot of times it's like that."
Meezy conceded that plenty of rappers might need to pay for features early on, at least as they build momentum, but usually it’s far from a priority. "N***as ain't paying each other for verses," Meezy said. Later, Druski asked if someone as big as Drake even has a feature price. “I don’t know,” Meezy replied. “I think where he at he’s just choosing who he fucks with. I know anything we’ve ever done with him, there’s never been money involved, ever.”
From there, he suggested that it’s “rare” for 21 Savage to be in the studio with other rappers these days. A lot of collaborations will be done separately, because when it’s too crowded in the studio it can be easy for everyone to forget about working on music. As Meezy put it, they might just be “listening to beats and fucking off.”
As for who he wants to see 21 collaborate with in the future, he said Ari Lennox and Jay-Z are the two standouts. “That’s who I can name, personally, I ain’t him,” he said. “So he might have someone else. But I really would love a Ari Lennox hook with 21 Savage on his R&B shit, one of them love songs. And obviously, like, Jay-Z...that’s like the ultimate stamp. … That shit would be a big one, I ain’t gonna lie.”
Recently 21 appeared to tease that a new album is on the way. The rapper already has four songs in the Hot 100 this year, as he pointed out in a retweet of the Billboard charts.
“No album in a year and a half tho…it’s time,” the 29-year-old wrote. His last full-length was 2020’s Savage Mode II with Metro Boomin, which followed the release of his 2018 solo album I Am > I Was.
Listen to the full conversation on Clubhouse here.
