Thursday, July 25, 2019

Explaining ASAP Rocky's Swedish Adventure

So, there's this American rapper.....A$AP Rocky (aka Rakim Mayers) who was appearing at some music fest in Norway. 

Around 30 June....out on the street in Sweden (days before the fest).....there is this altercation on the street.

There's a video up and you can watch the basis of this episode via YouTube.

What I see is ASAP with a small entourage, and a body-guard on the street and being followed by these two Swedes, who don't appear to be blonde.  My guess....Middle-Eastern and some immigrant situation.

The two Swedes just keep walking behind them.  No explanation.  At some point, the body-guard tells them to back off....don't follow them.  The two Swedes go through some act....like they might cooperate but then they come right back.

Based on the video....I can't say they were coherent, and maybe they were under the influence of alcohol or a stimulant of some type.

So a scuffle breaks out.  Mostly the body-guard and one of the Swedes.  Then the Swede throws his headset to the ground, and gets all riled up (maybe he was provoked but the video just seems to leave you at a loss over what this scuffle was all about).

So cops come on 3 July, and detain ASAP Rocky.  The Swedes say....let us investigate.  Twenty-one days of investigation occur.  Why?  If this had occurred in NY City or Baltimore....it'd be a one-page statement by the cops and maybe five eyewitnesses....all done in a matter of three days.  By the seventh day, either the guy would be charged or it'd be dropped. 

After a week of this, the investigation continues on.  Why?  No one can say why.  Charges against the two Swedes who were stalking the entourage?  No.  Charges against the body-guard?  No. Charges against Rocky?  Well, today (Thursday), they decided on charges (potentially up to two years)....involving assault. If Rocky has just agreed to be beat up by the two, I think it would have been OK for him.

Oddities?

1.  The two Swedes?  No one in Sweden talks about them....no journalist or news source.  A name was dropped in public today, but otherwise, nothing is said.

2.  Use of Swedish by the two Swedes?  After watching the video, my impression is that they didn't speak much Swedish, and marginally knew some English.

3.  Why stalking?  No one explains that.  Although I get the impression that a lot of Swedes stalk each other, and that's apparently not an issue there.

4.  Interference by President Trump with the phone-call?  The PM in Sweden basically said that he has zero power over the prosecutors and judges.  This is by Swedish law.  One gets the impression that the prosecutor and judges also have zero power over the PM, but maybe that's just a false impression.  It may be that no one is in charge in Sweden, and they just sit and grin. 

So what happens now?

Rocky will hire a Swedish lawyer and I'm guessing a legal case will be heard in about two to three months.  Does it draw unfair attention to Sweden?  Oh, that's very likely......with various rapsters and music folks likely to suggest a boycott to occur. 

Guilty episode?  I think Rocky will be told to just confess to the whole thing....maybe admit he was high on dope or drunk, and he doesn't remember anything because he crashed his head on the concrete after one of the Swedes hit him.  In fact, he could make up some whole lyric about doping in Sweden.

The prosecutor or judges worried about negative press?  No.  They are Swedes and there's nothing to worry about. 

At the end of this....Rocky will end up doing a year in some Swedish jail, and musicians will just admit the truth....Sweden isn't the wonderland that people have openly hinted at.  And all of this....due to two guys who marginally speak Swedish and might not have been in full control of their behavior. Kinda makes the script for a five-star movie if you ask me. 

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