21 Savage — official green card holder — finally announces U.K. show
21 Savage, newly minted permanent U.S. resident, will finally be able to return to his native U.K.
The “Rich Flex” rapper announced Saturday in an Instagram video that he would soon be traveling to England.
“London ... I’m coming home,” read a message at the terminus of the clip.
Savage’s lawyer, Charles Kuck, said in a statement that the rapper had been cleared to travel overseas following his 2019 arrest by ICE authorities.
Rapper 21 Savage faces possible deportation after being arrested by U.S.
Savage has obtained a green card. Kuck noted that the rapper had 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,” Kuck said.
On Wednesday, the Grammy winner shared on Instagram that he would be performing at London’s O2 arena on Nov. 30, with special guests Baby Drill and 21 Lil Harold.
Savage performed for the first time outside the U.S. on Saturday when he joined Drake onstage at the “One Dance” rapper’s Toronto concert.
After spending nine days in ICE custody, rapper 21 Savage told his side of the story Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“To whom it may concern, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known officially as 21 Savage, is now cleared to travel up north and perform for his beloved fans,” a voice announced onstage during Drake’s performance. “He has chosen Toronto as his first destination. Ladies and gentlemen —”
“No, no. Let me do it,” Drake cut in. “Ladies and gentlemen, performing for the first time outside of America in his life. Make some noise for the brother, 21!”
In 2019, Savage — who was born in England — was arrested in Atlanta after authorities said he overstayed a visa that expired in July 2006. He ended up spending nine days in ICE custody.
The rapper “was taken into ICE custody as he is unlawfully present in the U.S. and also a convicted felon,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox told The Times in 2019. “In addition to being in violation of federal immigration law, Mr. Abraham-Joseph was convicted on felony drug charges in October 2014 in Fulton County, Ga.”
Rapper 21 Savage was released from ICE custody on bond Tuesday after the U.K. native was arrested by federal immigration authorities on suspicion of overstaying a visa that expired in 2006.
Of the 2019 arrest, Savage told “Good Morning America” at the time, “I was just driving. And I just seen guns and blue lights. And, then, I was in the back of a car. And I was gone. They didn’t say nothing. They just said, ‘We got Savage.’”
At the time, the news that Savage was from England came as a surprise to many, as he had always noted that he considered Atlanta his home.
“I didn’t know what a visa was,” he told “GMA.” “I was 7 when I first came here. I knew I wasn’t born here, but I didn’t know what that meant as far as when I transitioned into an adult, how that was going to affect my life.
“I wasn’t hiding it,” he added, “but it’s like, I didn’t want to be deported, so I wasn’t going to come out and be like, ‘By the way I wasn’t born here,’ to the world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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