By Canadian Press

A$AP Rocky to perform in Stockholm months after conviction

Dec 13, 2019 | 6:27 AM

STOCKHOLM — A$AP Rocky is back in Sweden. The American rapper is set to perform late Wednesday in Stockholm, where he was convicted of assault in August over a street brawl.

The artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, will appear at Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe arena.

Following a visit to a school in the suburbs of the Swedish capital earlier in the day, Mayers posted an open invitation to his concert on instagram.

“Whoever’s from the hood, they get in for free,” he said in a video that went viral on social media and has led to queues of youngsters making their way into the capital.

High school student Farnaz Roustaei was in bed when she heard the news on snapchat and succeeded in convincing her mother to let her travel ninety minutes into town. She got her ticket via a link on Mayers’ instagram profile, and while not free, it cost her only 11 krona (1.1 US dollars.)

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“I’m so stressed. It’s my first concert ever,” she said, sharply dressed and with fresh make-up, making her way to join her friends.

Concert promoter Live Nation said last month that Mayers scheduled the show “after tremendous support from the Swedish fans.”

Mayers was arrested along with his two bodyguards and charged with assault after a 19-year-old man was hurt in the June 30 fight. He pleaded self-defence, saying he tried to avoid a confrontation with two men who were following his entourage.

Mayers and his bodyguards were all convicted but received conditional sentences, sparing them prison time unless they committed similar offences in the future.

During his return to Stockholm this week, A$AP Rocky had wanted to entertain inmates at Kronoberg prison, the facility where he was held for weeks this summer.

But Sweden’s prison board nixed the prison concert, citing logistical and security issues.

David Keyton, The Associated Press