21 Savage made his first live performance outside the US by joining Drake on stage in Toronto this weekend.
The Canadian performance at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (October 7) came after 21 Savage was declared a ‘lawful permanent resident’ of the US, meaning he will be able to finally visit his birth nation of England.
A four-year legal battle was sparked in 2019 when the rapper (real name Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was arrested for immigrating to the US and overstaying his visa.
The rapper had previously been unable to tour outside of the US, including the Canadian leg of Drake‘s ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour.
On Saturday, a man who declared that he was at the concert on behalf of “his majesty, Charles III”, announced: “To who it may concern, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known officially as 21 Savage, is now cleared to travel up north and perform for his beloved fans.”
“He has chosen Toronto as his first destination. Ladies and gentlemen–,” he added, before being cut off by Drake.
“Ladies and gentlemen, performing for the first time outside of America in his life. Make some noise for the brother, 21,” Drake told the crowd.
The rapper emerged onto the stage draped in a Canadian flag. Drake later told 21 Savage that he had “manifested” the moment and told him “the world is in the palm of your hand and there’s so much to see”.
You can watch footage of Drake introducing 21 Savage to the show below.
Drake had the crowd sing ‘O Canada’ to 21 Savage
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— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) October 8, 2023
Drake welcoming 21 Savage on stage in Toronto. We Love to see the bromance
pic.twitter.com/G0YHUoKd2s— Eudaemonia (@the_eudaemonia) October 9, 2023
drake surprised us with 21 savage in Toronto tn for his first international show
pic.twitter.com/cUKIvDygMt
— kayla (@KaylaTrivieri) October 8, 2023
@complexcanada 21 Savage’s first time performing in Canada! #drake #21savage #toronto #itwasallablurtour #concert Credit: msxx31 on IG
After the news of his ‘lawful permanent resident status’ 21 Savage posted a montage of clips and photos from his childhood in the UK and teased a London hometown show.
Last year, Drake and 21 Savage collaborated on the album ‘Her Loss‘, which NME described in a three-star review as an “exciting prospect marred by lazy songwriting”.
It added: “The Toronto and Atlanta megastars show flashes of brilliance, but can’t stay out of their own way on the 16-track collaboration.”
The post 21 Savage joins Drake on stage in Toronto for first performance outside US appeared first on NME.
