21 Savage recently said that he wanted to personally thank Jay-Z for helping him after Savage was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February of last year. So he went to Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s house, which he talked about in an interview on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Savage was born in the United Kingdom and arrived in the United States in 2005 at 12 years old. He came legally with a visa but it expired one year later. When Savage was arrested in a roundup of immigrants with felony convictions who were in the U.S. unlawfully, Jay-Z hired attorney Alex Spiro to assist the Atlanta rapper, who was in custody for 10 days at an ICE detention center in Ocilla, Georgia.
“When I got out, I pulled up on Jay-Z at his house,” Savage said on the podcast “Big Facts” at the 23:45 mark. “Him and Beyoncé was in there, and we was kicking it. He a regular n—-a. I just was thanking him. When I first got out I texted him like, ‘I’ma pay you back.’ He was like, ‘I don’t want your money, pay me back by being great.’ So I pulled up on him, chopped it up thanked him and s–t, ’cause he ain’t have to do that.”
Besides hiring a lawyer for Savage, Jay-Z also released a statement and said that the “A lot” rapper being locked up was absurd.
Reportedly, Savage applied for a U visa many years ago, which is something given in the U.S. to victims of crimes. But he was still arrested while the application was pending.
“The arrest and detention of 21 Savage is an absolute travesty, his U visa petition has been pending for 4 years,” wrote Jay-Z in his statement that was released in February 2019. “In addition to being a successful recording artist, 21 deserves to be reunited with his children immediately, #Free21Savage.”
The arrest has certainly affected Savage’s rap career, because even prior to concerts being canceled due to COVID-19, he wasn’t able to travel internationally for touring.
A court date to determine Savage’s fate has yet to be scheduled, and it’s still a possibility that he’ll be deported, a fact that he says isn’t lost on him.
“No, [my immigration case isn’t over] but the lawyers are dealing with it,” he said during his interview. “I don’t think they’re gonna [deport me] but if they do, s–t, my money coming with me, for sure. I’ll be alright, for sure. The money go wherever you go. They got rich people over there [in the UK]. I’ma be one of them.”
Savage is currently making the promotional rounds for his joint project with producer Metro Boomin “Savage Mode II,” which came out on Friday, Oct. 2. The release is a follow-up to their 2016 project “Savage Mode.”
