Morgan Freeman vocalled 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's album to avoid being typecast as a nice guy
Morgan Freeman says he lent his vocals to 21 Savage and Metro Boomin‘s ‘Savage Mode II’ album in order to avoid being offered the role of nice guy that he sees as his “mould”.
During the intro track, the Academy Award-winning actor says: “Great men with great ideals can be separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles and still be in the same place … I now present to you, ‘Savage Mode II’.”
In a new interview with GQ, Freeman explained that his interest in the feature represented a stark departure from the “nice guy” roles that he’s typically offered.
“What happens is you sort of get locked into a position,” Freeman said. “Henry Fonda was in it, Spencer Tracy was in it, James Stewart was in it, even though he played a couple of bad guys. You don’t really don’t want to be cast into a mould, but after a few years, it’s bound to happen. Every [offer] that’s outside of what you consider [your] mould is fun to do. I got to jump at it.”
Freeman continued: “I read the copy and was like wow, there’s some wisdom in here. I think this is the way I think. It’s basically saying don’t suffer fools and when you want something go for that,” adding “If [Savage’s music] is a young people thing, then this is stuff they need to be aware of. So it’s a good thing to do.”
However, at the time of the interview, Freeman hadn’t listened to the music his narration accompanies, nor had he undertaken further research on Savage, stating: “My lady asked me if I’d been living under a rock”.
Listen to the intro to ‘Savage Mode II’:
