A$AP Rocky’s albums have been getting stranger over the past few years, but even their oddest moments can’t compare to the bizarre trailer he dropped today for “Babushka Boi,” the song that is presumably his next single — and his first release since spending three weeks in a Swedish jail for assault before being released earlier this month.
The trailer, which features Russian subtitles, opens with Rocky in jail. Strange characters in masks make comments, and then Rocky is seen wearing a striped suit and dancing (badly), while an unseen crowd throws flowers and cheers in Russian accents. Yep, it’s as weird as it sounds.
Rocky previewed the song in concert earlier this year.
After an altercation with fans in Stockholm late in June, Rocky was detained in a Swedish facility for three weeks before being released. He was later convicted of assault in Sweden and given a suspended sentence. He was not present in the Stockholm courtroom when the verdict was handed down. Two members of the rapper’s entourage, Bladimir Corniel and David Rispers, were also found guilty of assault by the court.
However, none were required to serve more jail time, although Rocky did have to pay approximately $1,300 in damages to the victim. “The assault has not been of such a serious nature that a prison sentence must be chosen,” the court said in a statement. “The defendants are therefore sentenced to conditional sentences.”
The American rapper had been arrested and jailed following a confrontation with 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari. A$AP Rocky, Corniel and Rispers were held by authorities for several weeks until arguments in their assault trial wrapped up, at which point they were released pending the verdict.
Related
A$AP Rocky – whose real name is Rakim Myers – and his two companions had pleaded not guilty to the assault charge, arguing that they had acted in self-defense. They described Jafari as having approached them several times and looking “hostile.” A$AP Rocky testified that the situation “got a little scary.”