Swedish Court Finds A$AP Rocky Guilty, Rapper's Upcoming Gigs Unaffected

David Wolff – Patrick/Redferns – A$ap Rocky
performs at Le Zenith on June 27, 2019 in Paris, France

A$AP Rocky was found guilty of assault by a Swedish court six weeks after a street brawl in Stockholm that led to the American artist’s detention and became a bit of an international incident.

The rapper and his two bodyguards, who were found guilty of unlawfully hitting and kicking a 19-year-old man during a fight, were given “conditional sentences,” meaning they won’t have to serve prison time unless they commit a crime in Sweden again. That means his upcoming festival appearances in Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands Aug. 16-18 are happening, as a CAA representative confirmed to Pollstar.

The defendants were ordered to pay about $1,300 in compensation to the victim. A lawyer for A$AP Rocky expressed disappointment in the verdict and had wanted a complete acquittal, according to the Associated Press.

In an Instagram post, Rocky wrote: “I am of course disappointed by today’s verdict. I want to say thanks again to all of my fans, friends, and everyone who showed me love during this difficult time. Imma keep moving forward. Thank you to my team, my management, attorneys, label and everyone who advocated for justice.”

The incident became an international diplomatic spat, with celebrities including Justin Bieber, Sean Combs and others calling for Rocky’s release along with even President Donald Trump, who tweeted in support and reportedly sent an ambassador of hostage affairs to Sweden to monitor court proceedings.

The rapper was forced to miss several festival appearances in Europe but made it back in time for the 92.3 Real Street festival outside Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., as originally scheduled Aug. 11.

“We are thrilled that A$AP Rocky is confirmed to perform at Real Street! The event is going to be one huge party, and we can’t wait for him to receive a massive welcome from his fans that night,” said Honda Center’s President/CEO, Tim Ryan.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Welcome home <a href=”https://twitter.com/asvpxrocky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@asvpxrocky</a> !! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RealStreetFest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RealStreetFest</a> <a href=”https://t.co/MlILPwmHwa”>pic.twitter.com/MlILPwmHwa</a></p>— REAL Street Festival (@realstreetfest) <a href=”https://twitter.com/realstreetfest/status/1160812408517980160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Rocky was originally announced as a headliner to the new festival, which also featured Cardi B, Big Sean and many others Aug. 10-11.

“I’m so happy to be here right now y’all can’t even understand it,” Rocky reportedly told the crowd during his set. “I’m so happy to be here right now. That was a scary humbling experience but I’m here right now. God is good.”

A$AP Rocky was recently announced to be playing the first New York iteration of Rolling Loud, which takes place in October.