21 Savage Admits Trailer for Biopic Starring Donald Glover Was a 'Parody' — but Rapper's Album Is Out Now

Those looking forward to the new 21 Savage biopic may have to wait a bit longer. 

During a recent appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe this week, the British-born rapper, 31, admitted his life story was more along the lines of promo for another upcoming project. 

"No, that was a parody," Savage said, referring to a biopic that featured Donald Glover starring as the “Rich Flex” hitmaker. 

Earlier this month, the “A Lot” artist released the movie trailer to American Dream: The 21 Savage Story. In the preview, fans saw the Atlanta actor, 40, portraying the hip hop star — complete with face tattoos and extra hair to match. 

Others who appeared in the video included Stranger Things actor Caleb McLaughlin, Gail Bean, Druski, Jabari Banks, Chad Lindberg, Victoria Pedretti, Young Mazino and Natasha Lyonne. It was scheduled for an Independence Day 2024 release, with "music inspired by the film" available on Jan. 12.

However, the trailer was actually promoting 21 Savage's American Dream album, his first solo release since 2018's I Am > I Was.

Fans previously expected to see Glover and McLaughlin, 22, portray the Grammy winner at different stages of his life. Bel-Air’s Banks, 25, appeared as Savage’s longtime collaborator, music producer Metro Boomin.

The faux-biopic gave a glimpse of pivotal moments in Savage’s upbringing, such as facing bullies during his school-age years. It also depicted when he was controversially arrested by ICE and held in an immigration detention center for 10 days in 2019 over a visa that expired in 2006, after he and his mother moved to the U.S. from the U.K. during his childhood. 

In October 2023, he became a "lawful permanent resident," and was allowed to legally travel outside of the U.S. 

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At the time, his lawyer shared a statement, obtained by PEOPLE: "She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph followed all applicable Immigration laws since his initial detention by ICE. His immigration court proceedings have now been terminated and he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States with the freedom to travel internationally."

And as far as his biopic trailer to promote his new album, 21 Savage has shown his creative side before — although it did get him into a bit of trouble with media publisher Condé Nast. 

The brand sued both he and Drake in November 2022 after the duo allegedly used a fake Vogue magazine cover to promote their joint album Her Loss.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, stated that the "widespread promotional campaign" for their album was "built entirely" on Vogue's trademarks, as the images appeared to show the rappers featured side-by-side on a doctored December issue of the magazine.

The complaint stated that "none of it has been authorized by Condé Nast," and alleged that fake copies of the magazine had been distributed in metropolitan areas of North America.

"Vogue magazine and its Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour have had no involvement in Her Loss or its promotion, and have not endorsed it in any way," the complaint added.

The company also alleged that media outlets took the statements and images and ran with them, which led to “confusion.”