On July 3rd, 2019, American rapper and hip-hop artist A$AP ROCKY was arrested after fighting and beating a man who was following them for 4 blocks and was threatening to him and his crew. Upon being arrested, he was placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and is supposedly being held in unjust conditions. According to Billboard, the Congressional Black Caucus has stated that this whole situation is “outrageous and needs to be addressed”. They also stated that the public can expect forceful interactivity from them in this case. The U.S. Department of State said they hope that Sweden is dealing with A$AP fairly and respectfully and will see him back on tour with his colleagues very soon. Overall the U.S. is not very happy about news coming out of Sweden towards A$AP ROCKY.

As far as the public and his large following, over 600,000 people have signed a petition to free and release him from incarceration. Celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and Justin Beiber have called out to the public for their help in obtaining this result. Personally, I feel that Sweden is a civilized and ethical country. I would only hope that his captivity is only due to him breaking the law and that he is rightfully being held for just reasons. I also feel that the U.S. may be bending the news slightly and not giving the entire situation light to those interested. It is his own fault for beating someone up and breaking the law no matter what his intentions were. Imagine if a Swedish artist came to America, broke the law, and was then arrested for it. I have personally never been in one, but I feel that the prisons of America have very, very unjust and inhumane living quarters and I would definitely say that Sweden can agree. If I lived a lavish lifestyle for many years and all of a sudden it was stripped away and I was thrown in a jail cell, I would consider it inhumane too as far as the exponentially different conditions. In all, I do hope that A$AP ROCKY is released in the near future and that what he has gone through over the past two weeks is not very detrimental to his life and career.