Metro Boomin’s new solo project, NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES, features two appearances from his frequent collaborator, 21 Savage. On “Don’t Come Out the House,” 21 uses a whisper flow to describe his traumatic past. The track is co-produced by Tay Keith and Metro Boomin himself.
On 21’s first verse, he quietly describes growing up around poverty and violence:
We was broke so all we ate was rice, nigga
Paid the J’s to cut on my mama’s lights, nigga
Come get your bitch, she tryna spend the night, nigga
You a bitch, that make her a dyke, nigga
All these bodies, I can’t sleep at night, nigga
As Genius contributor Rob_Mileti points out, 21 may be referring to an incident when he was ambushed and shot six times that led to the death of his close friend.
21 previously rapped about losing sleep due to past trauma on the Issa Album track, “Close My Eyes”:
I can’t get no sleep, I swear I’m way too high, dog
I see dead bodies when I close my eyes, dog
Southern rappers Ying Yang Twins and David Banner are known for using a whispered delivery on their mid-2000s hits, “Wait (The Whisper Song)” and “Play,” respectively.
On “Wait (The Whisper Song),” Ying Yang Twin D-Roc whisper raps:
Hey how you doin' lil' mama let me whisper in ya ear
Tell ya somethin' that ya might like to hear
Elsewhere on the song, 21 references R&B singer Mya and seems to borrow a line from songs by Missy Elliott and reggae duo Tanto Metro & Devonte:
Look like Mya, she’s on fire, who got the keys to my Jeep?
Missy spits a similar line on her 1997 hit, “The Rain” (Supa Dupa Fly)":
Beep beep, who got the keys to the Jeep, vroom
On “Everyone Falls in Love,” Tanto Metro and Devonte appeared to have an answer for for Missy:
Beep beep, the singer got the keys to the jeep (vroom)
NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES arrives just months after Metro announced his retirement in an Instagram story. Meanwhile, 21 Savage fans are hopeful that his reportedly finished sophomore album will drop before the end of 2018.
Watch the video above to learn more, and read all the lyrics to Metro Boomin’s “Don’t Come Out the House” featuring 21 Savage on Genius now.
