Last night, 21 Savage performed his first live concert since being detained then released by ICE officials. Concertgoers in South Padre Island, Texas were treated to sparkling renditions of older songs like "No Advance" and "No Heart" from his Savage Mode EP with Metro Boomin, and conversely, newer material off I Am > I Was- all documented by the numerous attendees brandishing their phones like dynamite.
Since returning to the fold, 21 Savage and his attorney have consecrated a good amount of their energy and resources towards improving his public image. That does not say 21 Savage was ever labeled a miscreant by anyone with real insight into Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, the man behind the mythology.
But there's a belief "cleaning up" will serve him well in his efforts to secure permanent residency in the United States. Concert experiences like the one South Padre Island just bore witness to, help give off the impression 21 Savage is a working American, with his sights on stimulating the economy from the ground up - music to Donald Trump's gumpy eardrums.
One look at the #SouthPadre hashtag should give you a clear indication of how 21 Savage was received by the young Texan crowd, with few "nameless" concertgoers resorting to hawking their tickets last minute, in light of the demand for his return showing. In other news, 21 is keeping busy rolling out his Bank Account Campaign centered around promoting young entrepreneurship, as he himself embodies the project both in spirit and through his body of work.