What Happened to the Streets?


What Happened to the Streets? the fourth studio album by rapper 21 Savage. It was released through Slaughter Gang and Epic Records on December 12, 2025. The album features guest appearances from Young Nudy, Latto, Drake, GloRilla, G Herbo, Metro Boomin, Lil Baby, and Jawan Harris. Production was handled by various notable producers, including Metro himself, Wheezy, Southside, Zaytoven, FnZ, Oz, and D.A. Got That Dope, among others. What Happened to the Streets? serves as the follow-up to Savage's previous album, American Dream, which was released exactly 1 year and 11 months before.

Background

Rumors that Savage was planning to release a new album began on December 5, 2025, when an inflatable art piece in collaboration with British-Nigerian artist Olaolu Slawn was installed at an Art Basel fair in Miami Beach, Florida, with the album's acronym WHTTS, along with a pre-save link. Two days later, Savage tweeted that he would be releasing something five days later with the word: "Friday". The following day, he posted a trailer video, which features a person walking down an alley with gunmen looking for them and ending with the album's announcement. Its cover art, also designed by Slawn, was revealed when its pre-order was made available on Apple Music on the same day, revealing that it would have 14 tracks. The album's full tracklist would be revealed on December 11.

Controversy

Despite original predections from chart predictors, Hits, reporting first-week sales predictions of 110,000 album-equivalent units, following Billboards official report, controversy rose regarding Billboard allegedly filtering approximately 37,000 units of the album with many fans and rappers suggesting 21 Savage and his label buying more records to boost final sales.

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for Clash magazine, Robin Murray wrote that What Happened to the Streets? "never quite lands, opting for atmosphere over definition", as well as "provides more questions than answers, and beneath the brash moments leaves you wondering about the rapper's longevity". Murray criticized the sampling of R. Kelly in the closer, "I Wish".

Commercial performance

What Happened to the Streets? debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Musicians

  • 21 Savage – vocals
  • Taurus – programming
  • Spiff Sinatra – drums, keyboards, strings ; programming, vocals ; bass, organ
  • IBMixing – strings, programming, keyboards
  • Aaron Parrish-Dean – vocals
  • Dos Dias – vocals
  • D.A. Got That Dope – programming
  • Honest Thomas – choir vocals
  • Jaxon Brown – choir vocals
  • Levi Maze – choir vocals
  • Maxwell Brown – choir vocals
  • Sire Castello Raymond – choir vocals
  • Sovereign Bo Raymond – choir vocals
  • True Thomas – choir vocals
  • Brandon A. Thomas – guitar
  • FellyTheVoice – vocals

Technical

  • IBMixing – engineering, [Audio Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing (recorded music)|mixing]
  • Verne Emmanuel – engineering
  • Ben Hogarth – engineering
  • Noel Cadastre – engineering, mixing
  • Dos Dias – engineering
  • Thank Aaron – engineering
  • Daniel "Shebs" Sheehy – engineering
  • Mattazik Muzik – engineering
  • Anthony R. Smith – engineering
  • Neal H Pogue – mixing
  • Jess Jackson – mixing
  • Zachary Acosta – mixing assistance
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering
  • Jack Doutt – mastering