Back in January of this year, members of The Pharcyde were on tour, doing a show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was all good, until they tried to return home to Los Angeles, California and producer J-Swift was denied entry into the United States. The 43-year-old was born in Spain but had lived in L.A. since the age of two, and was detained in a Canadian federal prison. While his legal status is complex, it reportedly stems from several drug-related arrests. Per an L.A. Weekly feature this week, J-Swift claims he has been several years sober and was granted permission to remain in America during a previous deportation proceeding, but a relapse with cocaine in 2012 opened up new proceedings.

Now three years sober, J-Swift remains in Canadian prison and has been unable to return to the United States during his appeal. Unless his attorneys can negotiate his re-entrance, he will be put on a one-way flight to Madrid, Spain on March 26. Shauna Garr, director of the documentary film 1 More Hit which chronicled J-Swift’s drug addiction arrests, has started a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for Swift to pay his legal fees.

J-Swift has a wife and four children who remain in Los Angeles, as well as a 70-year-old mother. Heads will know J-Swift from his production work with The Pharcyde, as he produced the majority of their classic 1992 debut Delicious Vinyl Records album Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, including the hit “Passin’ Me By.”

Other Hip-Hop artists who have faced deportation include Slick Rick, who was able to appeal, Shyne, who is currently deported, and DOOM, who wasn’t exactly deported but opted to live in England when he was denied re-entry into the U.S.

The full L.A. Weekly story on J-Swift’s deportation can be found here.

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