21 Savage is finally going home — to London.
Four years after U.S. immigration agents took the rapper into custody, saying he overstayed his visa, he’s been cleared to travel outside the U.S.
The U.K. national, who was born She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, shared a video on Instagram Friday (Oct. 6) and included text on screen saying, “London, I’m coming home.”
Set to the Skylar Grey single “Coming Home,” the video included footage from 21 Savage’s childhood mixed in with clips of his performances.
The 30-year-old rapper’s attorney, Charles Kuck, told the Associated Press that his client recently settled his years-long battle with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and can finally travel outside the states.
“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.
After getting the all-clear to travel, 21 Savage performed with Drake over the weekend in Toronto, Canada.
Complex posted video on social media of the two rappers onstage, and reported the Oct. 7 show marked 21 Savage’s first international performance outside the U.S.
The rapper was taken into custody by ICE agents in February 2019. ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said at the time the “Skrrt, Skrrt” performer was arrested during a “targeted operation” in Atlanta.
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As previously reported, reps for the London-born performer said he arrived legally in the U.S. from Great Britain at age 7.
He remained in the U.S. until 2005, when he returned to the U.K. for a brief visit. He came back to the U.S. under a valid visa. However, immigration officials said his visa expired in 2006, and he stayed here illegally for years.
ICE said the rapper had a felony conviction, in addition to overstaying his visa. Once in custody, the Atlanta-based star was placed into deportation proceedings in federal immigration court, although he was ultimately allowed to stay.
The feds accused him of being an “unlawfully present United Kingdom national” who entered the United States in July 2005 on a one-year visa and remained for years after it ran out.
ICE reportedly wasn’t aware of 21 Savage’s immigration status when he was convicted on felony drug charges in Fulton County, Georgia back in October 2014.
The rapper’s reps said the charges were later expunged from his record. They also alleged that he was targeted by ICE after rapping about family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration.
Jay-Z stepped in to help by hiring a top immigration attorney to assist in his friend’s fight with ICE.
In a statement in 2019, Jay-Z said: “The arrest and detention of 21 Savage is an absolute travesty, his U visa petition has been pending for 4 years. In addition to being a successful recording artist, 21 deserves to be reunited with his children immediately, #Free21Savage.”
21 Savage spent 10 days in ICE custody. An immigration hearing for his case was postponed indefinitely because of court backlogs and other legal issues.
Following his release, he did an interview with ABC News about his arrest.
“I was just driving and I just see guns and blue lights,” the rapper said. “And then I was in the back of a car and I was gone.”
He was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2019, however, he missed the ceremony in Los Angeles because he was in ICE custody.
The following year he won the Best Rap Song Grammy for the single “A Lot.”
