Rocky took a moment to acknowledge his latest run-in with the law in Sweden during his set and told fans how elated he was to be back at home in the U.S. and performing. “I just want to say, what I experienced—it’s crazy,” he said in videos captured and shared on social media by fans.
“I’m so happy to be here y’all don’t even understand. That was a scary humbling experience God is good,” Rocky continued.
The 30-year-old was also grateful for the support he received while behind bars in Stockholm, Sweden: “People that I don’t even f**king know was reaching out. Hip hop never felt so good man.”
Fellow rappers and friends ASAP Ferg, Tyler the Creator and YG joined Rocky onstage during his performance.
Rocky, whose birth name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested and charged with assault along with two other members of his entourage following a physical altercation with a 19-year-old man named Mustafa Jafari in Sweden in July. The New York native pleaded not guilty and said he and his friends were only acting in self-defense after Jafari and another man followed and harassed the group before allegedly attacking Rocky’s bodyguard.
The rapper can be heard asking Jafari to leave them alone in videos shared on his Instagram account ahead of the altercation.
Despite pleas fan petitions and pleas from celebrities and congressmen requesting the Swedish government to allow Rocky to return home to await his trial, the Testing rapper was forced to remain behind bars.
Following the urging of Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, President Donald Trump even contacted Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on Rocky’s behalf to advocate for his release. However, the conversation didn’t end in Trump or Rocky’s favor as Löfven reportedly told the president the artist would not receive special treatment and would remain behind bars for the duration of his trial.
Rocky was finally released from Swedish jail and allowed to return home to the States nearly a month after his arrest on August 2. He immediately shared a message of thanks on his social media following his release.
“THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART TO ALL OF MY FANS, FRIENDS AND ANYONE ACROSS THE GLOBE WHO SUPPORTED ME DURING THESE LAST FEW WEEKS I CANT BEGIN TO DESCRIBE HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR ALL OF YOU THIS HAS BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT AND HUMBLING EXPERIENCE I WANT TO THANK THE COURT FOR ALLOWING ME BLADI AND THOTO TO RETURN TO OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF THE LOVE AND SUPPORT,” he wrote.
Rocky is expected to return to Sweden for his final verdict on Wednesday.
A post shared by PRETTY FLACKO (@asaprocky) on Aug 2, 2019 at 11:39am PDT
