STOCKHOLM • He does not want to be chained to the past.

On Wednesday, American rapper A$AP Rocky returned to Sweden to perform at a concert, just months after he was convicted for assault following a trial that saw United States President Donald Trump attempt to intervene on his behalf.

A$AP Rocky and two members of his entourage were convicted in August for beating a 19-year-old after an argument.

The rapper, who was in Stockholm to do a show, said he was acting in self-defence and was given a suspended sentence after being held in custody for more than a month.

"Thank you to everybody who showed up here today in Sweden," the 31-year-old told a packed arena of thousands in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Performing from a cage on stage with dancers dressed as prison inmates, he added: "I didn't bring you here together so we can talk about Swedish authorities, politics or American politics. I brought you here today for love and unity."

Earlier on Wednesday, he posed with students at a school in Husby, a Stockholm suburb listed by police as a troubled area.

"We came to the slums," he said. "We're here checking out our people, letting them know we care about them. Whoever's from the hood gets in free."

After he was released in August, A$AP Rocky promised fans he would return to Stockholm.

Last month, he asked the authorities in the jail where he was incarcerated if he could do a show for the inmates. The request was turned down because security could not be guaranteed.

REUTERS