ICE apparently brought out the big guns — and big helicopters — to detain 21 Savage.
Two days after he was released from federal immigration custody, the rapper opened up about his harrowing experience on Good Morning America, where he confirmed that he was “definitely targeted.”
He recalled of his February 3 arrest on Friday:
“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.”
The performer, born She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, claimed that officers didn’t tell him he was under arrest at the time, adding:
“They just said, ‘We got Savage.’ … It was definitely targeted. There was helicopters.”
As we reported, authorities claimed Savage, who was born in the United Kingdom, had overstayed his 12-month visa that was issued in 2005.
But in his GMA interview, he claimed that he “didn’t even know what a visa was” because he’d been living in the U.S. for almost 20 years. He explained:
“I was seven when I first came here. And we had left in, like, 2005 ’cause my uncle died, my Uncle Foster. So we went back to go to his funeral, and, then, we came back. So that’s why I think got it confused where they thought, like, that was my first coming.”
Inneresting, seeing as his lawyer told TMZ last week that Savage applied for a U-Visa in 2017. Maybe his legal team applied for it on his behalf?
Either way, the rapper feels the time he’s spent living in the states speaks for itself. He added:
“I’ve been here 20 years, 19 years. This is all I know. I don’t think you should be arrested and put in a place where a murderer would be for just being in the country for too long.”
As for his time in detainment, Savage recounted:
“My mama told me to picture where I wanna be. She said, ‘Visualize yourself, whatever you wanna do, just close your eyes and visualize yourself doing that. And as long as you do that, you will never be in jail.’”
A deportation hearing is still pending.
The Bank Account artist’s lawyers released a statement on Tuesday confirming he was “granted a release on bond.” The statement went on to thank the fans and peers who had shown their support during his arrest.
After the 26-year-old was taken into custody, his lawyers claimed his arrest was “based upon incorrect information about prior criminal charges.” Attorney Alex Spiro reiterated this on Friday, telling GMA:
“There’s a lot of things about this case are curious and troubling.”
It certainly is. Ch-ch-check out clips from his interview (below).
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