Jay-Z is helping out with 21 Savage‘s legal battles even though the rapper isn’t signed to the hip-hop moguls company Roc Nation.
21 Savage, whose real name is Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested by ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] on Sunday. In response, Jay-Z took to Facebook calling the arrest of the 26-year-old “an absolute travesty” in a post.
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“The arrest and detention of 21 Savage is an absolute travesty,” he wrote. “His U visa petition has been pending for 4 years. In addition to being a successful recording artist, 21 savage deserves to be reunited with his children immediately, #Free21Savage.”
As a response, Jay-Z took action by having his company hire attorney, Alex Spiro, to help with the case.
“We are not going to stop until he is released, bonded out or in front of a judge,” Spiro told TMZ. “What we have here is someone who overstayed their Visa with an application pending for 4 years — not a convicted criminal that needs to be detained and removed but, by all accounts a wonderful person, father, and entertainer who has a marijuana offense which was vacated and sealed.”
21 Savage applied for a U Visa four years ago when a judge vacated his drug conviction involving marijuana, but that application was never responded to so he reapplied in 2017 and that application was never addressed either.
The “Bank Account” rapper believes this all took place as a result of his new music that slammed immigration officials.
Jay-Z believes that a person charged with “visa overstay” should be allowed to remain free while they’re case is ongoing.
According to BBC News, Savage’s team said he first arrived in the country from the UK at age seven in 1999. However, ICE argued otherwise claiming the musician came in 2005 at age of 12 then continued to overstay his visa, but the rappers lawyers stated he doesn’t have the correct documents, which expired when he was a child, “through no fault of his own.”
The U.K. native used lyrics for years that led fans to believe he was from Atlanta, Georgia, when he was really born abroad.
Savage is nominated for two Grammy Awards that air this weekend, including Record of the Year for Post Malone’s “Rockstar.”
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will be host by Alicia Keys. Artist like Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 will be missing from this years ceremony although both have been nominated.
