Album: Savage Mode II (2020)
Charted: 9
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, 21 Savage poses threats to his opps as he delivers lines about his arsenal of weapons. His enemies run away because they know he won't spare them.
  • During the chorus, Savage uses a trick he previously employed on 2018's "A Lot" when he repeats the title ad nauseam. In this instance, the Atlanta rapper juxtaposes "running" with several common usages, including his automobiles (they're running) his scary presence (they run), and even his runny nose.
  • Savage starts off his first verse by recollecting his mentality when the first Savage Mode was released in 2016. At that time he was still living the street life, riding around, and beating people up.
  • Metro Boomin's frenetic, spooky beat samples Diana Ross' 1976 song, "I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)."
  • Morgan Freeman concludes the song by posing the questions.

    Are things better or worse the second time around?
    Can we really do anything more than once?


    Savage Mode II features several different monologues recited by Morgan Freeman. The actor told GQ that it was all pre-written for him by the Atlanta spoken-word artist Big Rube and he recorded his contributions onto his iPhone at his home.

    A member of the musical collective Dungeon Family, Big Rube is known for his skits and interludes for OutKast and Offset ("Father of 4"). Freeman told GQ that it was Big Rube's writing that attracted him to the project, even though he wasn't familiar with 21 Savage's work.
  • "Runnin" went viral on TikTok in late 2024 thanks to a photo collage-based trend involving misdirection.

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