The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s arrest of 21 Savage shocked fans by revealing he was actually a British native. In a new interview with the New York Times’ Jon Caramanica, 21 opened up about coming to the U.S. as a child and recently being detained by ICE for more than a week.
The Epic Records artist confirmed he had a British accent as a young kid and was teased for it once he started school in the U.S. 21 said he wasn’t sure when or how he lost it.
“I had a accent, ’cause my first day of school they was making fun of me so I beat somebody up, and they was calling me ‘taekwondo kid,'” he explained. “My mama whupped me, she made me stay in the house. So I know I had a accent, but I been here 20 years — I don’t know what happened to it.”
21 spoke on some of the more serious realities of his life too, such as when he first learned his immigration status was unsettled and what he was thinking about while being detained by ICE. But 21 also touched on the many memes that circulated after he was revealed to be British.
The Atlanta-repping artist surprisingly said he was “appreciative” of the memes. He even admitted to being entertained by some of them.
“Some of them was funny — I ain’t gonna lie,” he noted. “I was appreciative of that. I coulda been another person who just, ‘He locked up? Damn,’ and nobody said nothing. Some people, I see why they was mad. It ain’t about the meme, it’s about the bigger picture.
“But I done been through way worse things in my life than somebody putting me on a meme. I been shot — what is a meme? A meme is nothing. That’s something on the internet that I can do like this [turns over phone] and never see again. I look at bullet scars every day, so it’s like, a meme, bro?”
Read 21’s entire interview with the New York Times here.
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Twenty one Sah-vee-ge. Oh yah? Fookin US goh-vern-munt gave you some hard time?
Ever since the news broke: I just hear that lame trash reciting one of his dumbest lines “Lit like a wick” in a British accent, ICE should listen to his “music” and send this ugly rodent back to the where he came from.
Hilarious
CB4 Gusto.
deppppppppppppppppoooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeedddddddddddddd mate!
We don’t need your wack music, guvna.
I think God works in mysterious ways 21 is in position to make everyone aware of what happens to people in custody of ICE. And during his short career has become more concious than some vets in the game.Straight Up ! 21 21
The Most High worried about his own people in this captivity. Damn anyone volunteering to inhabit Babylon.
Never thought I’d see the day when a 21 savage would have a british accent lol. Good thing he lost it.
Erm excuse me…
Fock off m8
Millions of people get deported to a third world country:lol who cares
Random rapper gets deported to decent place:FREE HIM THIS INSTANT
21 keep pushing ATL
His father is also a doctor.
He moved to Atlanta when he was 7 so that’s around 1999. He went back to the UK in 2005 for a funeral then returned to the states