“Things Got a Little Weird:” A$AP Rocky Says He Fought 2 Swedish Guys in Self-Defense

Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.

A$AP Rocky said he and his entourage were just trying to rent electric scooters when they were assaulted by two men on the streets of Stockholm, one of whom punched his bodyguard and struck him with a pair of headphones.

The Harlem rapper told a Swedish court Thursday that he got scared when he saw his bodyguard was cut and had started to bleed.

"We pleaded and we begged and we said, 'Look, man, we don't want to fight y'all,” said the rapper, who testified that he acted in self-defense in the street brawl that got him thrown into a Swedish jail in early July.

The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, told the crowded courtroom that he believed the alleged victim, Mustafa Jafari, 19, was acting erratically and possibly on drugs.

READ: A$AP Rocky pleads not guilty as trial begins in Sweden

"Things got a little weird. We thought that the behavior of these guys was strange. It got a bit scary," he said.

Rocky was arrested July 3 on allegations that he and two of his security guards attacked Jafari in Stockholm during his European tour. He pleaded not guilty to assault charges on Tuesday, the first day of the trial.

He testified that the two men kept following him and his crew after begging them to stop — speculating Jafari might’ve been high. "I couldn't help but assume that these guys were affected by some kind of drug," he said.

Jafari accused Rocky and his bodyguards of kicking and beating him with a glass bottle, saying, "My wounds have not come from nowhere,” during court proceedings.

But the rapper maintained it was self-defense even though he admitted to throwing Jafari to the ground and trampling his arm.

READ: Trump is trying to get A$AP Rocky freed. It's not going well.

"I wanted to go straight to the hotel for safety. I didn't want this to happen," he said. "We had no clue where we were; we just knew we weren't close to the hotel."

Kim Kardashian-West, President Trump and other A-listers failed at freeing the American rapper from Swedish prison.

Unlike the U.S., Sweden has no bail system that would allow Rocky to remain free pending trial.

Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, said the rapper wouldn’t get a “Get Out of Jail Free” card in a statement to the New York Times. "In Sweden everyone is equal before the law and the government cannot and will not attempt to influence the legal proceedings.”

READ: Kim Kardashian's underwear line just pissed off all of Japan

And even though Rocky isn’t a hostage in Sweden, Trump sent the top U.S. diplomat for releasing Americans held captive, to attend the trial.

Sweden’s judicial system has come under more international scrutiny during the trial of the prominent American. Rocky waited nearly a month in prison before he was even charged.

The country has received criticism for detaining people without a limit on the time they can serve before trial. Over 25% of inmates in Swedish prison are in pretrial detention.

According to the LA Times, Rocky faces up to two years in jail if the court finds him guilty of assault.

Cover: A$AP Rocky attends Rihanna's 4th Annual Diamond Ball benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Diamond Ball)