21 Savage misses Drake’s Toronto concert and is replaced by Lil Baby… despite allegedly receiving Green Card to let him travel outside the US
21 Savage was absent from Drake’s concert at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Friday night.
Many fans of the 36-year-old hitmaker expected the 30-year-old rapper to appear during the penultimate stop of the It’s All a Blur Tour after he was reportedly given the green card.
However, the artist, who recently settled a lawsuit with Condé Nast over fake Vogue covers, was replaced by fellow rapper Lil Baby without explanation.
21 Savage, Drake and Lil Baby kept quiet about the legally troubled rapper’s absence from the concert on their social media pages.
The Find Your Love singer is currently scheduled for a second show at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Missed opportunity: 21 Savage was absent from Drake’s concert at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, which took place on Friday night; he is seen in June
Big plans: Many fans of the 36-year-old hitmaker expected the 30-year-old rapper to appear during the penultimate stop of the It’s All a Blur Tour after he reportedly received his green card; Drake was seen in 2016
Off: However, the performer, who recently settled a lawsuit with Conde Nast over fake Vogue covers, was replaced at the last minute by fellow rapper Lil Baby without explanation; Lil Baby is seen in September
The final concert of the It’s All a Blur tour will also take place at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio on Monday night.
Drake previously stated that 21 Savage was granted a green card amid years of immigration headaches.
The In My Feelings rapper, 36, broke the news about 21 Savage, 30, in new material he released Thursday titled 8am In Charlotte.
The single includes the lyrics: ‘Savage got a green card straight from the consulate/Where I go, you go, brother, us Yugoslavs.’
With the green card, 21 Savage would be able to enter Canada to perform at shows and back into the United States.
The update marks the latest chapter in 21 Savage’s four-year battle over his immigration status, as a Georgia DeKalb Superior Court clerk told TMZ on Thursday that the immigration case involving the rapper has been closed.
The London-born music artist was arrested on February 3, 2019 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities for allegedly staying in the US illegally after his visa expired in 2006.
Officials said a gun was recovered from the vehicle in which 21 Savage, whose real name is Sheya Bean Abraham Joseph, was; and that he attempted to dispose of a bottle of codeine while in custody.
Latest: Drake, 36, says 21 Savage, 30, got green card amid years of immigration headaches
21 Savage turned himself into authorities at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in September 2021, and was linked shortly thereafter.
In January 2022, DeKalb County prosecutors formally charged 21 Savage with possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, according to TMZalmost three years after he was originally detained.
Sources told TMZ at the time that no court date had been set in DeKalb County, which would continue to delay the immigration case, which has also been significantly stalled by the pandemic.
The Grammy winner was allowed to travel to the US, his immigration lawyer Charles Cook said last year, but he could not leave the country because he did not have a re-entry visa.
Artist Mi Life shared his thoughts on immigration with Associated Press in October 2019 before receiving honors from the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles.
He said that children who were in the country illegally should have been automatically granted US citizenship.
“When you’re a kid, you don’t know what’s going on,” 21 Savage said. “Now you grow up and you have to understand that.” I can’t get a job. I can’t get a license. I am one of the lucky ones who made it. There are many people who cannot.’
21 Savage, who was held in a detention center in Georgia for 10 days in 2019, was born in the UK and brought to the US at the age of seven.
Freedom of movement: With a green card, 21 Savage could enter Canada to perform at Drake’s upcoming shows in Toronto and re-enter the United States; pictured last year
Issues: Drake’s update marks the latest chapter in 21 Savage’s four-year battle over his immigration status; seen in Atlanta on March 25, 2022
He told AP that he thinks he “should be exempt” in those circumstances, because as a child he had no choice.
“It’s not like I was 30 and woke up and moved here,” 21 Savage said. “I’ve been here since I was seven or eight years old, probably younger than that.” I didn’t know anything about visas and all that. I just knew we were moving to a new place.’
21 Savage also said the visa process is too lengthy for undocumented immigrants because it “hangs over your head forever.”
“They’re just losing hope,” said performer Mr. Right Nov. “I feel like the kids who were brought here at a young age, they should automatically say, ‘Yeah, it’s good for you to stay here and work and go to college.’ It should be nipped in the bud before it gets to the point before you come of age.’