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Photo by Vickey Ford (Sneakshot) for Okayplayer
Photo by Vickey Ford (Sneakshot) for Okayplayer
"It was definitely targeted," Savage said of the arrest.
Following his release from a detainment center Wednesday after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 21 Savage has finally broken his silence on the incident.
The rapper took to ABC's Good Morning America to recount the moment when ICE detained him in Atlanta.
"I was just driving and I just seen guns and blue lights. And, then, I was in the back of a car, and I was gone," Savage said. "They didn't say nothing. They just said, 'We got Savage.'"
"It was definitely targeted," he added.
Prior to the arrest, Savage had rapped about immigration during his performance of "a lot" on Fallon, saying: "Been through some things so I can’t imagine my kids stuck at the border."
"Do you feel like you were targeted as a result of that, basically being critical of the immigration system here?" Good Morning America host Linsey Davis asked Savage.
"My lawyers think that," the rapper replied before adding his own opinion. "I don't really know. I can't really say. I would see why people would think that, but I really can't say."
When asked if he was aware of his immigration status, Savage said: "I didn’t even know what a visa was. I was seven when I came here. I knew I wasn’t born here but I didn’t know what that meant as far as transitioning into an adult."
Although Savage was released on a $100,000 bond on Tuesday, he still faces deportation, something he is concerned about but isn't trying to let bring him down.
"I feel like I done been through so much in my life, like, I learned to embrace the times when I’m down 'cause they always build me up and take me to a new level in life," he said.
Both Savage's attorney Dina LaPolt and Alex Spiro, the attorney hired by Jay-Z and Roc Nation, believe the rapper was target as well.
"...part of the reason, we think, is both because he’s a celebrity, and they can use this as a way to send a message, and also, perhaps, because of his music," Spiro said.
