21 Savage on Growing Up Black and Poor: ‘The World Hates Us’

21 Savage is garnering critical praise for his debut album, Issa. Fans have saluted the Atlanta rapper for his socially conscious lyrics and addressing a myriad of topics including police brutality (“Nothing New”).

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Savage discussed some of the political songs on the album.

"Most of the time I just talk about me or what I experience," he explained. "Now I be trying to talk about other things that other people can relate to."

"It's hard being black," he continues. "I don't think people really understand how hard it is to be black. Especially when you coming from nothing. In the hood, there's already a lot of hate just amongst us black people. We killin' each other and everybody else killin' us too. We poor. And the world hates us."

Savage says that he always brought some social awareness in his music but feels that people often ignore them.

"People always say I don't ever talk about that type of s---, then when I talk about that type of s---, they do everything in their power to not talk about that song," he said. "They don't give me the credit. F--- 'em."

Elsewhere in the interview, Savage addresses being lumped in with what the detractors call "mumble rap." The 24-year-old rapper despises the term and believes that people are hating on artists who are bringing a different energy to the rap game.

"I don't feel like nobody who they say [is] mumble rap mumbles," he states. "They don't understand my slang or my accent. They don't know how to categorize it, 'cause it's art. They're just trying to bring it down."

You can read the full 21 Savage interview at RollingStone.com.