21 Savage’s English origins stun fans of the Atlanta rapper
Neeson says he’s not racist, explains rage after attack
Liam Neeson says violence breeds violence and bigotry breeds bigotry. The 66-year-old actor appeared Tuesday on ABC’S “Good Morning America,” one day after he told an interviewer that he had violent thoughts about killing a black person after learning nearly 40 years ago that someone close to him had been raped. Neeson says he had asked about the race of the attacker, along with other descriptive characteristics. He says he had a “primal urge to lash out” before he was shocked by his reaction and sought help from a priest and friends.
Neeson says he’s not a racist. The actor says we need to talk about these things because bigotry and racism exist.
It was a shock for fans when 21 Savage was arrested by U.S. immigration agents in Georgia. It was an even bigger shock to learn he had been an immigrant in the first place. The Grammy-nominated rapper and his music are so associated with Atlanta that the notion he was actually born in England and brought to the U.S. at 12 felt bizarre. It became clear that very few knew his birthplace.
The rapper born Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-joseph was truthful in his music about his tumultuous teen years in Atlanta; he simply left out his first years.
Abraham-joseph was detained by immigration officials Sunday. His attorneys say he applied for a new visa in 2017 and should be freed.