Busta Rhymes performs after court victory

American rap star Busta Rhymes performed at a charity concert just hours after winning a UK court battle to prevent his deportation.

Rhymes, real name Trevor George Smith Jr, won his race against time to get the legal all-clear to play at last night’s Orange RockCorps gig at the Royal Albert Hall.

The 36-year-old rapper was refused permission to enter the UK at London City Airport on Thursday morning because of criminal convictions in the US.

Rhymes, who has already been allowed entry to the UK twice this year, in May and August, had a valid work permit for the concert.

A London judge, yesterday afternoon, continued an injunction preventing his removal from the UK.

The injunction gave Rhymes the opportunity to challenge the decision by immigration authorities to deny his entry and paved the way for him to perform.

The judge emphasised the extraordinary nature of the case and stressed that he was acting so as not to disappoint the thousands of fans who, even as he was giving his judgment, were heading to the Royal Albert Hall.

The concertgoers had earned their tickets by doing four hours of community work on the understanding that they would see Rhymes in action.

Ruling in favour of maintaining the junction preventing Rhymes’ deportation, the judge said he was concerned that if the star did not perform it could have a knock-on adverse effect on the whole RockCorps project, which was seeking to engage young people who might otherwise take “a negative approach to life”.

A spokesman for Orange RockCorps said the rapper’s performance at the concert last night met with a roaring reception from fans.

He said: “It was absolutely incredible after everything Busta had been through. The atmosphere was electric, people were jumping up and down. They were more emotionally connected to this gig because they had earned their tickets through volunteering.”