21 Savage describes solitary confinement and more in first interview since arrest
21 Savage has given his first interview since his nine-day stint in custody following his arrest by ICE in the US.
The Atlanta rapper was found to have been born in Newham, in London, and on the wrong, non-immigrant visa.
21 Savage arrested: US immigration say he is a “UK national”
In a new interview with ABC News, the 26-year-old rapper says that when his visa expired in 2006, he “didn’t know what a visa was.”
“I wasn’t hiding it, but I didn’t want to get deported, so I’m not finna be like, ‘Hey I wasn’t born here,’ to the world.”
He also spoke of his limited memories of his time in the UK – as it is being claimed he immigrated when he was seven: “I went into first grade here, so I don’t really remember too much. I remember, like, my grandma house, and that’s probably about it. I didn’t really do much there. I’ve been in Atlanta probably 20 years, 19 years. I’m from Atlanta, in my eyes.”
21 also discussed being in prison, where he was confined in a single room by himself, saying: “I don’t feel like you should be arrested and placed in a place where a murderer would be for just being in the country.”
“I feel like I done been through so much in my life, like, I learned to embrace the times when I’m down ’cause they always build me up and take me to a new level in life. So it’s like even if I’m sitting in a cell on 23-hour lockdown, in my mind, I know what’s gonna come after that. So I’m not happy about it. But I’m accepting of it.”
Watch a clip of the interview:
