Stormzy has been announced as the new headliner of Poland’s Open’er Festival tonight (July 4) – as an 11th hour replacement for A$AP Rocky after he was arrested on suspicion of assault in Sweden.
A$AP has been held on suspicion of assault, along with three others, following his appearance at Smash festival in Stockholm on Sunday night. Of the other three, two are suspected of aggravated assault and one of assault.
Video footage published online on TMZ appears to show Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, throwing a punch at a man in the street. However, he has since countered with his own video on his Instagram which he claims is taken from before the fight and they show the man following him, with the rapper repeatedly telling him to stop pursuing him.
In the caption for the first video A$AP Rocky states: “We don’t know these guys and we didn’t want trouble. They followed us for four blocks”, while in the second he accuses the man of hitting his security guard “In the face with headphones.”
News agency AFP reports that the authorities have until Saturday to decide whether to formally take action.
According to reporting from the Evening Standard, Prosecutor Fredrik Karlsson said: “They had the intention to leave the country quite soon and if they leave the country there could be a risk that we would not be able to get them convicted if they had done this crime.”
Rocky’s lawyer Henrik Olsoon Lilja added: “We are working hard with this and confident that the prosecutor will take a decision in favour of my client when he gets the full picture.”
Fresh from receiving acclaim for his historic headline set at Glastonbury 2019, Stormzy will act has his replacement.
“Stormzy is coming to Open’er! ,” confirmed the festival’s Facebook page. “This year’s Glastonbury headliner in just a few hours decided to help us, and we are very grateful for that. Respect! See you in Gdynia tonight at 0:30, Orange Main Stage.”
Of Stormzy’s Glastonbury appearance, NME raved: “Stormzy’s Glastonbury was a reflection of the time we live in now. Being the second-youngest headliner in the festival’s history and the first black UK solo artist to have such a high billing would have weighed a lot on his shoulders. With anticipation before the night apprehensive, Stormzy does not put a foot wrong throughout.”
The four-day Open’er Festival continues today in Gdynia, with a line-up that includes The 1975, Marina, Jorja Smith and The Strokes.
A$AP Rocky is due to close Wireless Festival in London’s Finsbury Park on Sunday (July 7).