21 Savage remained absent from Drake’s concert at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Friday evening.
Many fans of the 36-year-old hitmaker expected the 30-year-old rapper to perform at the third-to-last stop of the pair’s co-headlining It’s All a Blur tour after he reportedly received his green card.
However, the performer, 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 have remained silent on their respective social media pages about the legally controversial rapper’s absence from the concert.
But sources later told TMZ that Canada was responsible for 21 Savage’s inability to attend the concert.
Missed Opportunity: 21 Savage remained absent from Drake’s concert at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Friday night; He will be seen in June
Big plans: The 30-year-old rapper was expected by many of the 36-year-old hitmaker’s fans to appear during the third-to-last stop of the pair’s co-headlining It’s All a Blur Tour after reportedly receiving his green card; Drake can be seen in 2016
Replaced: However, the performer, who recently settled a lawsuit with Condé Nast over fake Vogue covers, was replaced at the last minute without explanation by fellow rapper Lil Baby; Lil Baby will be seen in September
They claimed that Canadian authorities blocked the rapper from entering the country at the last minute, but the reason was not given.
The Find Your Love singer is currently scheduled to perform a second show at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday evening.
The final concert of the It’s All a Blur Tour will also take place on Monday evening at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Drake previously explained that 21 Savage received a green card despite years of immigration-related issues.
The In My Feelings rapper, 36, announced the news about 21 Savage, 30, in new material he released on Thursday titled 8AM In Charlotte.
The single contains the lyrics: “Savage got a green card straight from the consulate/Where I go, you go, brother, we Yugoslavs.”
With a green card, 21 Savage could enter Canada to perform at the shows and re-enter the United States.
The update marks the latest chapter in 21 Savage’s four-year battle over his immigration status, as officials with the DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court in Georgia told TMZ on Thursday that an immigration case involving the rapper has been closed.
The London-born musician was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities on February 3, 2019, on charges that he was in the U.S. illegally after his visa expired in 2006.
Officials said a handgun was recovered from the vehicle containing 21 Savage, real name Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph; and that he was attempting to dispose of a bottle of codeine at the time of his detention.
The Latest: Drake, 36, says 21 Savage, 30, received a green card despite years of immigration issues
21 Savage reported to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in September 2021 and announced a prison sentence shortly thereafter.
According to TMZ, prosecutors in DeKalb County formally charged Savage with possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance in January 2022, nearly three years after he was first incarcerated.
Sources told TMZ at the time that there was no court date scheduled in DeKalb County, which would further delay the immigration case, which has also been significantly stalled by the pandemic.
The Grammy winner was allowed to travel within the U.S., his immigration lawyer Charles Kuck told the outlet last year, but he could not leave the country because he did not have a visa to return.
The My Life actor shared his thoughts on immigration with the Associated Press in October 2019, before being honored by the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles.
He said children who were in the country illegally should have been automatically granted U.S. citizenship.
“As a kid, you don’t know what’s going on,” 21 Savage said. “Now you’re an adult and you have to figure it out.” Can’t get a job. I can’t get a license. I am one of the lucky ones who was successful. “There are a lot of people who can’t do that.”
21 Savage, who was held in a Georgia detention center for 10 days in 2019, was born in the United Kingdom and brought to the United States when he was seven years old.
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 a four-year battle for 21 Savage over his immigration status; seen in Atlanta on March 25, 2022
He told the AP that he believes he “should be exempt” under the circumstances because he didn’t have a choice as a child.
“It’s not like I woke up when I was 30 and moved here,” 21 Savage said. “I’ve been here since I was seven or eight, probably even younger.” I didn’t know anything about visas and all that. “I just knew we were moving to a new place.”
21 Savage also said that the process of obtaining a visa for undocumented immigrants is too lengthy as it “hangs over their heads forever.”
“You just lose hope,” the Mr. Right Now actor said. “I feel like kids who were brought here at a young age should automatically say, ‘Yeah, it’s good to stay here, work and go to college.’ It should be nipped in the bud before it reaches a point before you become an adult.”