SAVAGE ATTACK
21 Savage was shot SIX TIMES in bungled drug deal firefight that killed his best mate on rapper’s 21st birthday
RAPPER 21 Savage was shot six times in a bungled drug deal firefight that killed his best mate on the rapper’s 21st birthday.
The Grammy-nominated musician reportedly nearly died from blood loss after one of the bullets struck his neck, leaving him with lingering nerve damage.
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The 26-year-old made headlines when he was arrested for being in America illegally after he was found to be British, and not from a rough neighbourhood in Atlanta as he claimed.
Speaking on camera about the attack, the rapper, whose real name is She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, claims to have disarmed the shooter used the gun on him.
He said: "I'm still here, I didn't go to jail, RIP to my brother."
The musician refused to talk about what prompted the "ambush" shooting, but the reported that it was down to a botched drug deal.
There is some suggestion it was the shooting that inspired the rapper's name, but in another interview he said the 21 was a reference to the 2100 Street Gang he was affiliated with.
His lawyers are fighting the deportation order and claim he has been targeted by US immigration officials because he blasted Donald Trump in a new song.
The six-strong legal team say the rapper is in the process of obtaining a U visa - a visa for victims of crime - because of the shooting.
A DREAMER
They said ICE should release Savage from custody and delay his removal from the country while he awaits to hears back.
They also dispute ICE's claim the rapper has a criminal conviction [for drug charges in 2014].
His legal team said the rapper fits the provisions of being a dreamer - meaning he was illegally brought to the US as a child but had now been naturalised.
They said in a statement: "Mr Abraham-Joseph, like almost two million of his immigrant child peers, was left without immigration status as a young child with no way to fix his immigration status. "These Dreamers come from all walks of life and every ethnicity.
"Mr Abraham-Joseph has three US citizen children, a lawful permanent resident mother and four siblings that are either US citizens or lawful permanent residents."
The star is being held in federal immigration custody.
During a performance of the song A Lo' on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 21 Savage changed the lyrics to the song to take a shot at US border policies under President Trump.
“Been through some things so I can’t imagine my kids stuck at the border, Flint still need water, People was innocent, couldn’t get lawyers,” he rapped.
MOVED TO US AGED 12 ON ONE-YEAR VISA
Elsewhere today his manager claimed the rapper was held on lockdown for 23 hours a day with no TV or any communication besides our 10 min phone calls".
He later deleted the tweet.
The rapper claimed to have grown up in a crime-hit community in Atlanta, Georgia, taking a gun to school at 11 or 12 before joining a street gang.
But his birth certificate shows he was born in Newham, East London, in 1992 to UK-born parents Heather Joseph and Kevin Emmons.
He moved to the US with mum Heather in 2005 aged 12 on a one-year visa.
21 Savage is estimated to be worth about $8 million.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Stars from the world of hip-hop have shared their shock at 21 Savage's detainment, with US rappers including Lil Yachty and Meek Mill calling for him to be freed from custody.
Some spread memes around social media which poked fun at his British heritage.
Pals of the rapper told The Sun he was really a "softie" from London who faked his gun-toting gangster life in America.
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Rapper 21 Savage has been arrested by US immigration officials - because he's British
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21 Savage, right, as a young boy in London pictured with his father Kevin and twin sisters
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21 Savage's mum recorded speaking with British accent at 2018 event in Atlanta
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