On Sunday, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested British-born rapper 21 Savage (born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) in Atlanta on alleged immigration violations. The arrest was during a targeted operation focused on fellow rapper Young Nudy and two other unnamed men, for reasons “unrelated to the immigration arrest.”
Nudy, whose real name is Quantavious Thomas, was booked into a DeKalb jail on aggravated assault and gang charges. Police obtained arrest warrants for the rapper on Friday.
W. Scott Smith, an attorney for the rapper, said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the warrants were from an incident two years prior, and that the Atlanta Police Department investigated and cleared Nudy before the charges were picked up by DeKalb police. “We believe that Young Nudy is innocent and this is a case of mistaken identity,” the statement read. “Young Nudy’s legal team is working closely with law enforcement to ensure this case does not get blown out of proportion.
“Young Nudy is taking these charges very seriously,” the statement continues. “Had law enforcement contacted us directly we would have voluntarily surrendered, but Young Nudy was arrested shortly after a performance Saturday night.”