Hanan Othman
New York rapper A$AP Rocky is doing some damage control in Europe. The hip-hop star has decided to invest in new fintech company Klarna based in Sweden, two years after his arrest there causing an international scandal.
A$AP Rocky Invests in Finance Tech
Rocky had more than making money as an investor on his mind when he chose to support Klarna. In an interview, the A$AP Mob leader revealed that he wanted to help low-income people become more financially knowledgeable, as he was in the same place growing up in Harlem.
Sweden-based Klarna is Europe’s biggest privately held fintech company with 4,000 employees and a $31 billion valuation, pumped up by investors like Softbank, General Atlantic and BlackRock. The company has become elephantine in such a short time by offering customers the ability to make purchases and pay later, making money by charging merchants to utilize Klarna’s payment technology. Today Klarna names a new investor: rapper, designer and producer A$AP Rocky. (Forbes)
Found Guilty Of Assault In Sweden Case
In August 2019, news broke of Rocky being found guilty of assault from a June incident in Sweden. The verdict went down in Stockholm.
A$AP Rocky has been convicted of assault in Sweden and given suspended sentence. A$AP Rocky was not present in the Stockholm courtroom. The American rapper had been arrested and jailed following a confrontation with 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari in Stockholm on June 30. He and two companions were held by authorities for several weeks until arguments in their assault trial wrapped up Aug. 2, at which point they were released pending the verdict. (Variety)
During the same time frame, footage emerged of A$AP Rocky hanging out at Kanye West‘s past weekly Sunday Service event in California following a publicized release from a Sweden jail.
The rapper, who was released this weekend after spending a month in Swedish custody, was spotted attending the Sunday Service event organized by West and put on each week in California. Video clips shared to social media show A$AP Rocky, 30, chatting and laughing with A$AP Ferg, 30, and West’s sister-in-law Kendall Jenner, 23, to whom he was briefly romantically linked in 2017. (PEOPLE)
A$AP Rocky Addresses Controversial Sweden Guilty Verdict
In mid-August 2019, A$AP Rocky went to social media to address the publicized guilty verdict in his Sweden assault case. Rocky relied on Instagram and kept it fully 100 while also thanking supporters for sticking by his side.
Rocky Announces He’s Heading Back To Sweden
In November 2019, A$AP made his mighty return to Sweden. The hip-hop veteran announced plans to travel back overseas months after landing behind bars in an assault case months beforehand.
“After tremendous support from the Swedish fans, he returns to Stockholm for a long-awaited gig for all his supporters,” said the organizer, LiveNation, in a statement on Friday. The rapper will play the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm on December 11th. Part of the proceeds will go to the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups (FARR), a non-profit organization working to strengthen the right of asylum. (The Local SE)
