Shéyaa Bin “21 Savage” Abraham-Joseph became one of the faces of immigration reform when the London-born rapper was taken into custody by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2019. The U.S. government claimed 21 Savage was in the country unlawfully because his non-immigrant visa had expired after coming to America as a child.
According to reports at the time, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter hired attorney Alex Spiro to help Abraham-Joseph fight possible deportation back to the United Kingdom. Jay-Z’s Roc Nation management/record company publicly supported the Atlanta resident as well. Carter called the ICE arrest “an absolute travesty.”
In 2017, he applied for a U visa yet last week he was arrested by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last week, Abraham-Joseph also released an extended version of his single “A Lot” which speaks about immigration injustice;— Roc Nation (@RocNation) February 6, 2019
21 Savage recently sat down with Big Bank and DJ Scream’s Big Facts podcast to promote his new Savage Mode II project with Metro Boomin. The 27-year-old Grammy winner also spoke about meeting with Jay-Z after the billionaire Hip Hop mogul helped him with his immigration situation.
“When I got out, I pulled up on Jay-Z at his house. Him and Beyoncé were in there,” recalled Savage. “We were kicking it. He a regular n-gga. When I first got out, I texted him like, ‘I’mma pay you back.’ He was like, ‘I don’t want your money.’ He said, ‘Pay me back by being great.’ So I pulled up on him, chopped it up, and just thanked him because he ain’t have to do that sh-t.”
21 Savage also addressed associates that did not back him while he was locked up. He added, “When I got out I really started to see all the love. I was like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’ And I noticed all the fake love too, all the n-ggas who didn’t show love. So if you wondering why I’ve been stiff on you since I got out, it’s ’cause you a b-tch, and you did not say ‘free me.'”
The Big Facts conversation also featured 21 Savage discussing police brutality, classic R&B music, financial literacy, COVID-19, and several other topics. Savage Mode II dropped today (October 2). The Metro Boomin-produced project features Drake, Young Thug, and Young Nudy.
https://t.co/mrPkHbgRED Enjoy 4L
— Metro Boomin (@MetroBoomin) October 2, 2020