Grandmaster Flash has offered to help 21 Savage “in any way possible” after the embattled rapper was detained by US Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The hip hop pioneer asked the British-born star to “call me” following news Savage had been released from detention.
Savage – real name She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph – was freed on a 100,000 US dollar (£78,086) bail in the lead-up to his deportation hearing.
Producer and disc jockey Flash told the Press Association he was a fan of Savage’s music and that he wanted to help him.
He said: “Man, he needs to fix that. So what’s going to happen? I haven’t heard the latest.”
Flash then directly addressed Savage, saying: “Yo 21, you need to come call me, man. Let me help you out.
“I like his style, I like what he does. I’d help him in any way possible. He’s a good guy.”
The 61-year-old was speaking after being named laureate of the prestigious Polar Music Prize alongside violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
Each year the prize honours two laureates, one from the contemporary world and one from the classical, for significant achievements in music.
The award is made in the presence of the Swedish royal family and each laureate receives one million Swedish kronor (£86,000) in prize money.
Flash emerged from the US hip hop scene of the 1970s and is widely regarded as one of the first artists to mix, cut and scratch records.
The veteran performer also hailed grime, describing the genre as a “cousin” of hip hop.
He singled out south London rapper Giggs who he said the “world needs to see”.
He expressed sadness at the fact Giggs had not been able to travel to the US to perform after being convicted for firearm possession in 2003.
He said: “The grime scene, there is this artist by the name of Giggs, I think he’s incredible.
“It’s just sad that someone as talented and as incredible as he is, he’s in a little bit of trouble and he can’t move around the way he wants to but the world needs to see him.
“That’s the way that I see it. I think he’s amazing, an amazing rapper.
“I see grime as a cousin of hip hop, so of course it’s going to take off. It’s just some things take a matter of time.
“For us it took decades and decades for the world at large to say: ‘This means something’.”
Now in its 28th year, previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include Metallica, Sting, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, Chuck Berry and Bjork.
The Polar Music Prize laureates are decided by an independent 11-member committee and the recipients will be honoured at a ceremony in Stockholm on June 11.