Yasiin Bey’s prolonged fight to leave South Africa is now officially over after the country finally granted his request. The local government agreed to let him leave, but not without soliciting an apology from Bey for breaking immigration law and barring the rapper from re-entry, classifying him as “an undesirable person,” per a report by The Guardian.
Bey’s lived in Cape Town since 2013 but he ran into trouble in January 2016 when he was arrested for trying to enter the country using “a world passport,” which South Africa and many other countries do not recognize as proper documentation. He was also initially charged with aiding and abetting his family to stay illegally in the country as well. As a result, the artist, formerly known as Mos Def, was detained in South Africa and unable to leave until the matter was resolved.
“[He] has unreservedly apologized to the Government of South Africa,” stated the South African Home Affairs Department. “The department is satisfied with the apology [and] will withdraw the charges against him.” Since they’ve now classified him as what the report calls an “undesirable person” for his actions, Bey will not be allowed back in to the country. Something tells us that he won’t contesting that part of the agreement.
Over the course of the past year, Bey’s released music and indicated he will be retiring once he releases his next project soon.
Update: Fresh off news of the initial news of him finally being able to leave South Africa, Yasiin Bey’s ready to take on the world for what’s being called his final concert series. The Black on Both Sides MC will be doing a series of performances at the Apollo Theater and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his last shows in the U.S., per a report by Billboard. The series will kickoff in Harlem on December 21 followed by a December 31 through January. 2, 2017 run in Washington D.C. He’ll be playing both new and old material and each show is slated to include special guests. More details will be shared as they become available.
