21 Savage tweeted "12-7-18" in November, which led to speculation that the album would be released on that date. The tracklist was leaked by record producer Louis Bell via his Instagram story on December 13, 2018. 21 Savage later stated in his Instagram story that he was "sorry" because he "forgot" to release the album, but a later video stated it would be released on December 21.
Cover art
21 Savage posted the cover art on Instagram on December 6, which features a blurred out image of himself, captioning the image with a number of goat emojis. Billboard called the cover art "cryptic".
I Am > I Was was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 81, based on six reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as 78 out of 100, based on eight reviews. Reviewing the album for Variety, A. D. Amorosi stated "Despite all the high-profile guests, it's actually on the soulfully inventive "Ball w/o You", "Gun Smoke" and the sensual "Out for the Night"—which all feature 21 Savage on his own—that "i am > i was" is at its best and most dynamic." Eric Diep of HipHopDX said, "At 15 songs and 51 minutes long, it's an enjoyable listen with good pacing, filled with the right amount of vulnerability, heartache, menace, and savagery." Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian saying "There is a slight uptick in vocal musicality compared with his previous work.... He has plenty of average lines—almost as offensive as the rightly controversial "Jewish money" lyric in ASMR is the weakness of "you get burned like toast" as a simile—but his catchy flows always make him magnetic, especially when paired with universally brilliant production from Metro Boomin, Kid Hazel and others." Paul A. Thompson from Pitchfork stated, "i am > i was shatters the notion of 21 Savage as a specialist with a narrow purview and audience, and recasts him as a star in waiting, all without forcing him into unflattering contortions. It also cements him as a far more original stylist than other hopefuls from Atlanta." Consequence of Sound critic Michael Pementel said, "21 Savage's ability to express a variety of feelings allows the music to stand out at times and become more than a generic gangsta rap presentation. It's unfortunate, then, that the record finds itself held back by unfeeling and monotonous takes on issues like gun violence. Overall, i am > i was is a mixed bag of experience that offers enough solid tracks to keep fans latched on."
I Am > I Was debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 in the first chart issue of 2019, earning 131,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming 21 Savage's first US number-one album. In its second week, The album remained at number one, earning 65,000 units, down 51 percent from its debut week. In its third week, the album fell down to number two with 56,000 units. A Boogie wit da Hoodie's Hoodie SZN surpassed him with 58,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 10, 2019. On January 8, 2020, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units in the United States. Following the release of I Am > I Was, nine songs debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was led by "A Lot", which peaked at number 12 in its seventh week.
