Rapper 21 Savage, born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested by US immigration officials (ICE) in Atlanta on 3 February after allegedly overstaying his visa. It was subsequently confirmed that he is actually from the UK. The rapper was born in Newham, East London, and moved to Atlanta with his mother at the age of seven. Now 26 years old, ’21’ (as he is widely known) has “barely any recollection” of life in the UK and as far as he is concerned, “Atlanta is home”.
On the day of 21’s arrest, there was an outburst on social media. Some made jokes about 21 originally being from Britain, and what a shock it would be for him if he ever came back. Images of the rapper’s early years in London, as well as a copy of his birth certificate, were plastered all over social media. The image of the birth certificate was subsequently picked up by mainstream news.
A Snapchat story also surfaced, showing an image of a young Shéyaa with a family member. The alleged family member/friend also posted a video, which showed a picture of the rapper at his grandmother’s house, in London.
The birth certificate revealed both his parents’ names, dates of birth and place of residency, which should have been redacted. It’s understandable that the purpose of a certificate is to make everyone’s birth a matter of public record, but was there a need to broadcast this all over social media?
As a celebrity, your life may no longer be as personal as you desire it to be. The press are constantly at your neck and fans always want to be a part of more than just your music. However, there needs to be a boundary, and the release of 21’s birth certificate was overstepping that boundary.
At the time, opinion was divided. Many people believed that releasing the birth certificate “wasn’t that deep”, as 21 is a celebrity and his personal life is bound to be intruded upon. However, others were appalled at the intrusion.
One Twitter user said: “I’m sure many of you wouldn’t like your birth certificates to be posted.” And if there’s no objection, he added, “I’ll be posting them online”.
The rapper has since been released from ICE, after a petition against his deportation was signed by a million people. Furthermore, rapper Jay-Z hired lawyer Alex Spiro to help fight against his deportation. Spiro is confident that 21 will “remain in America”.
Nonetheless the question of privacy – where to draw the line? – remains unanswered.
