‘Rihanna Doesn’t Deserve This, She’s Due Any Day Now’: A$AP Rocky Released After Being Detained at Los Angeles Airport In Connection with 2021 Shooting

A$AP Rocky was released on a $550,000 bail after he was detained by the police when he landed at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday morning following a vacation with Rihanna. Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Myers, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, according to ET. 

After speaking with the Los Angeles Police Department, the outlet confirmed that Rocky’s arrest stemmed from an altercation in November 2021. Authorities say an “argument between two acquaintances occurred.”  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 28: A$AP Rocky performs during Bilt Rewards X Wells Fargo Launch Event Party on March 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

“The argument escalated and resulted in the suspect firing a handgun at the victim,” the outlet reports. “The victim sustained a minor injury from the incident and later sought medical treatment. Following the shooting, the suspect and two additional males fled the area on foot.” The complainant reportedly sustained a bullet graze in the incident.

A$AP Rocky had just arrived back in the United States from a trip to Barbados with his pregnant girlfriend, Rihanna. The two are expecting their first child together. 

His court date is reportedly set for August 17.

But this isn’t A$AP Rocky’s first run-in with the law. In the summer of 2019, Rocky and two co-defendants were arrested in Sweden. He was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm after video footage showed the 33-year-old involved in a street fight punching the victim, Mustafa Jafar. Rocky later posted another video that showed the alleged victims harassing him. Images of the other man fighting with Rocky also surfaced, and they depict him with deep bloody cuts on his arm and bruises on his leg, finger, as well as upper body. 

The “Pretty Flacko” rapper was taken into custody and remained in a Swedish jail for weeks. He was found guilty but managed to avoid jail time.

Due to his arrest, fellow artists like Tyler, the Creator, T.I., and Schoolboy Q vowed to boycott Sweden. Back then, former President Donald Trump also got involved in the effort to free Rocky. He spoke about Trump’s involvement in his case in a documentary titled “Stockholm Syndrome.”

A couple of fans reacted to the news of the rapper being arrested in the first place.

“WTF!!! Rihanna doesn’t deserve this, she’s due any day now!!! I must admit I didn’t like A$AP Rocky for Rihanna. I felt he would make RiRi a common statistic sadly. She could have done better like with her last boyfriend Saudi Businessman Hassan Jameel…. I loved them as a couple.”

“Ooooooweeee if this is premature and Rocky is the wrong person it’s going to be a mess! He’s been walking around for months and they’re just making an arrest from a “report” from the alleged victim that doesn’t know if he was brazed by a bullet or not. Does the victim know anything for sure. Shady all day.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top