21 Savage Shares His Experience On Being Detained By ICE

He shared that he was separated from his children for two weeks, but some people had been there for years.
Whether he’s singing ’90s R&B slow jams in his Instagram videos or cranking out trap hits that top the charts, there is an undeniable appeal to 21 Savage. Fans thought they knew everything about the 26-year-old rapper, but when he was arrested earlier this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while driving around Atlanta, it came as a surprise that he wasn’t the ATL star that everyone thought. We learned that the British-born artist was accused of overstaying his Visa and was taken into custody, a move that prompted many to question whether or not he was targeted because of his philanthropic and community building moves with his charity, the “21 Savage Bank Account Campaign.”

The rapper covers the latest issue of Paper magazine where they detail Savage’s experience and legal hurdles surrounding his arrest. Savage was advised by his counsel not to go into speak about his troubles, but the Issa Album hitmaker did talk about what it was like being separated from his family.

“I didn’t see my kids for almost two weeks,” 21 says of his time in detainment. “There are people in detention centers just sitting for months and even years not being able to see their families. Then some of those people just end up being sent off overnight to a place they ain’t never really lived and they don’t ever see their family after that.”

Savage has endured quite a bit during his short life on earth, including being shot six times on his 21st birthday back in 2013. His best friend was also shot during the incident, but he didn’t make it out alive. “I stay focused on moving forward and not letting stuff put me in a hole or make me feel depressed,” he says of the tragedy. “I don’t really dwell, but I think about the people I’ve lost. At the same time, I think of the moments I had with them versus them not being there.”