It came as quite a shock when Morgan Freeman's ushered the announcement of Savage Mode II. What was even more surprising is that his role wasn't just limited to the trailer. Known to many as the voice of God, Morgan Freeman's voice leads Savage Mode II as the first person you hear on the project. "Great men with great ideas can be separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles and still be in the same place," he says.
Speaking to GQ, Morgan Freeman explained his interest in the role came from constantly being cast as a "nice guy." This was an opportunity to step out of his typical line of work. “What happens is you sort of get locked into a position,” Freeman explained. “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 mold, but after a few years, it's bound to happen. Every [offer] that’s outside of what you consider [your] mold is fun to do. I got to jump at it.”
Excluding defining what separates a snitch and a rat, Freeman revealed that the morals and values being preached in both the album and the script resonated with him. “I read the copy and was like, ‘Wow, there’s some wisdom in here,’” he said. "I think this is the way I think. It's basically saying don't suffer fools and when you want something go for that... “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.” He added that the skits were all recorded on his iPhone from home.
Savage was perhaps even more excited to be working with Morgan Freeman. The rapper celebrated his album release during an Instagram Live where he flexed on pretty much everyone, including his peers in rap, that he was able to work with the legendary actor.
"Listen to Morgan Freeman, man! That's Morgan Freeman. Fuck wrong with y'all? Y'all can't even e-mail Morgan Freeman," he said as "Many Men" starts playing in the background. Savage brings it back to the "Snitches & Rats" interlude. "Break it down to 'em, Morgan!"