With his second studio album, Issa Album, recently going gold and peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts, 21 Savage is one the most influential rappers of 2017. Having such success with his music, fans were very eager to see what the Atlanta-based rapper could bring to the table with his surprise album, Without Warning.

On Halloween day hip-hop’s biggest names, including 21 Savage and Offset, released ten tracks on joint album, Without Warning produced by Metro Boomin. With such heavy hitters, I expected the album to have much more of an impact in a year where rap music is entering a such a experimental and versatile phase with album releases from Joey Bada$$, BROCKHAMPTON, and Tyler, The Creator.

The first track on the album, “Ghostface Killers” starts off with menacing bells that play well with 21’s “savage” image and the spooky Halloween theme. I enjoyed Metro Boomin’s production with multiple tempo changes that gave the song character, fans can also be delighted with a feature from Travis Scott blessing the track with his iconic autotune. As for the third track “Rick Flair Drip”, which only features Offset, appears to be one of the best songs in the album with a bouncy beat, catchy hook, and heavy bass. With this track, Offset proves why he is one of the most impactful members of Migos.

One track that I wasn’t a big fan of was “Disrespectful”. The chemistry between Offset and 21 during this song was almost non-existent. The beat was energetic, but 21 kept his slow and choppy flow while Offset went pretty smoothly to the beat. The difference between the two verses didn’t really transition well at all.

There were a few more songs that didn’t really spark for me. Although the production is good, many of the songs were about the “usual” topics:  murder, money and drugs. Although the album proved to bump, it wasn’t very special other than it’s well-connected Halloween references. Yes, Without Warning was a surprise, just not one I jumped for.