Donald Trump once again rallied behind the American rapper A$AP Rocky, who has been held in police custody in Sweden since early July.
“Give A$AP Rocky his FREEDOM, We do so much for Sweden but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around,” Trump said on Twitter on Thursday.
Trump also directly addressed the Swedish prime minister, Stefan Löfven, who refused to get involved in the case after previous advocacy from Trump. In a statement earlier this week, Löfven’s office had said that “in Sweden everyone is equal before the law”.
Give A$AP Rocky his FREEDOM. We do so much for Sweden but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around. Sweden should focus on its real crime problem! #FreeRocky
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
The US president on Thursday said he was “very disappointed” Löfven was “unable to act”.
The grammy-nominated artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was charged last month over a fight in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Mayers has insisted that he acted in self-defense. He posted videos on Instagram purporting to show the lead up to the confrontations, with two men who appear to be following the rapper and then attacking his security guard.
Named after one half of the hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, Rakim Athelaston Mayers was born in New York in 1988. He adopted the name A$AP Rocky when he began his career in 2007, joining the A$AP Mob crew.
Mayers had a troubled childhood. His elder brother was murdered, his dad was arrested for drug dealing, and he spent some time moving around homeless shelters with his mother and sister. His older sister died of a drug overdose in 2016. Mayers himself served two weeks in prison for drug dealing in 2004.
He came to prominence with the release of the mixtape Live.Love.A$AP in 2011. Having signed to a major-label deal for a reported $3m, his 2013 debut album, Long.Live.A$AP debuted at No 1 on the US Billboard 200. Follow-up At.Long.Last.A$AP was also a No 1 album in the US, certified as a platinum seller, and featured a seemingly unlikely collaboration with Rod Stewart.
His creative partner and best friend A$AP Yams (Steven Rodriguez) died in January 2015 in an accidental drug overdose. In 2016, Mayers became the first African-American to be the face of Dior Homme.
In 2013, he was charged with slapping a woman at Philadelphia's Made in America festival. This was eventually settled out of court in 2015. He has been involved in other altercations, in Toronto, New Zealand, and London, the latter involving a bagel and an Uber in Brick Lane. He unexpectedly declared a love of the Piccadilly Line while delivering the Red Bull Music Academy lecture in the city, and has collaborated with British rapper Skepta on the acclaimed track Praise the Lord (Da Shine).
He has caused controversy by appearing to describe the Black Lives Matter movement as a “bandwagon”, saying “I don’t wanna talk about no fucking Ferguson and shit because I don’t live over there. I live in fucking SoHo and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate.”
Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West and Justin Bieber have rallied behind the rapper.
Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act. Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States. I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly! #FreeRocky
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
Kardashian West directly appealed Trump to help Mayers, prompting the president to tweet last week he was working to free the rapper.
“I will be calling the very talented prime minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky,” Trump tweeted from aboard Air Force One last Friday, adding he had just spoken with Kanye West about Mayers’ situation.
