ASAP Rocky says he designed new uniforms for the Swedish prison where he was detained earlier this year in a new profile in Forbes. Rocky recently visited the Summit Ideas Conference at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles for an onstage conversation with Summit co-founder Jeff Rosenthal called “Culture, Clothes, and Cultivating Creative Legacy,” where they talked about the rapper’s interest in fashion, authenticity, and his recent experience in a Swedish prison.
“When I was going through my whole situation, the whole time I used to look on television and see Swedish fans showing me so much love and I want to give it back,” Rocky said of the ordeal, which saw him locked up and awaiting trial for assault after a video of a street fight involving the rapper went viral. “Most of the proceeds [from performances in Sweden] will go to inmates and prison reformation.” Rocky is noted for mentioned that he had “designed new wardrobe and uniforms for the facility he was in.” Rocky plans to return to Sweden for a show at the Ericsson Globe venue in Stockholm in December.
The Harlemite became a cause célèbre after his management complained that he was being held in “inhumane” conditions. Many supporters, including Rocky’s good friend Tyler The Creator, vowed to boycott Sweden in the wake of those comments. Eventually, though, Rocky was released after his trial and found guilty of assault after he’d returned to the US. T.I. said that the ordeal might change Rocky’s outlook on activism, and from his new comments, it appears it may have done just that.
