Slick Rick was, at times, a cause célèbre, but largely among the genre’s elders. Shyne became, in essence, collateral damage of late-90s rap excess. But both cases unfolded in far less dramatic moments of the immigration debate. By rapping about the child separation policy, 21 Savage inserted himself directly into a noxious political climate. And while many rappers, from YG to Eminem to Jay-Z, have spoken openly of their contempt for President Trump and his policies, none had as much to lose.

Early in his career, 21 Savage did not immediately appear as a likely candidate for a political agitator. On his earliest mixtapes, he emerged as a coldhearted menace, dulled to the world’s pain. His lyrics were bleak, his attitude bleaker. Over the last couple of years, as he has become increasingly popular, he’s been steadily remaking his public image — a product, he said, of being exposed to more of the world.

“I think financial freedom made me grow as a person,” he said, speaking about his desire to help others. “I did it as soon as I had the resources and the time. ‘Cause when you first start making money, it’s like you still figuring yourself out.”

“But then it’s like, O.K., we a machine now,” he added. “Now we can get everybody else right.”

It was this impulse, LaPolt said, that resonated with her when she was first in discussions to represent 21 Savage last year. “I realized how much he did for the community,” she said, citing his back-to-school drives and interest in spreading financial literacy to underserved populations. “I said to the rest of the team, ‘This needs to be at the forefront of the storytelling.’”

LaPolt is a prominent music industry attorney who was one of the primary engines of the Music Modernization Act, the copyright legislation that was signed into law in October and which, among other things, updates how royalties are paid in the streaming age. When 21 Savage was arrested, she put her Washington connections to work. Johnson, a Congressman from Georgia who had attended a back-to-school drive organized by 21 Savage, wrote a letter of support. Lofgren’s statement came soon after.

On the Sunday of the Grammys ceremony, which 21 Savage ended up watching on a television in his detention-center cell, Kuck called ICE’s toll-free number for detainee information and learned that, unexpectedly, a hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday morning.