The man behind musical masterpieces such as Babushka Boi, Sundress, and Praise The Lord has been arrested in Los Angeles after stepping off a private jet just in from Barbados. Rakim Meyers, better known as A$AP Rocky, finished off his holiday on a sour note when Los Angeles Police Department officers met his plane on Wednesday morning, cuffed him, and carted the rapper away.A$AP's unfortunate encounter with law enforcement relates to a 2021 shooting, with the LAPD hitting A$AP with an assault with a deadly weapon charge. And while Simple Flying makes no comment on the merits of the charge and notes A$AP's right to the presumption of innocence, we also note A$AP continues a fine tradition of rappers getting arrested and creating aviation news when stepping off a plane.

A$AP Rocky continues an ignoble tradition of rappers running into trouble getting off planes

In January, Rapper Vic Mensa ran into trouble at Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD) after returning from Ghana when US Customs and Border Protection officials found liquid LSD and psychedelic mushrooms in his bag (41 grams of liquid LSD, 124 grams of psilocybin capsules, 178 grams of psilocybin gummies, and 6 grams of psilocybin mushrooms for the benefit of readers with in-depth knowledge of these things).

Rich the Kid was detained by police at LAX coming off an American Airlines flight in 2018. He and his manager had been involved in an altercation with a flight attendant after the rapper got up to use the restroom while the plane was taxiing towards the gate. His manager allegedly threatened to cut the head off a flight attendant after the resume your seat order was issued. For his troubles, the manager was arrested rather than merely detained.

A$AP Rocky's holiday ends on a sour note, but it could have been worse

James Potok, a Toronto-based SoundCloud rapper, demonstrated what a blue-chip flop he is while on a WestJet flight to Montego Bay in early 2020. He announced inflight that he was just back from China and not feeling well. It was a prank, but the flight turned around and returned to Toronto, where Mr Potok was arrested, charged with mischief and “breach of recognizance.”

“I was looking to get a viral video,” Potok said at the time. “I figured it would invoke some kind of reaction, like ‘this kid’s got some balls’ or ‘this kid’s crazy,’ whatever it is.”

Wayne Michael Carter Jr, a.k.a. Lil Wayne, found himself in hot water after the feds pinched him with a gold-plated handgun and bullets in his luggage on a private flight to South Florida in 2019. For that, Lil Wayne was facing ten years imprisonment. Citing his charity work and donations, President Trump later pardoned the rapper.

But back to our man A$AP Rocky. While President Biden is unlikely to be as generous with the pardons for rappers, readers can be reassured A$AP is not doing the hard yards in the clink tonight. After around seven hours of enjoying (or not) the attentions of the LAPD, A$AP was cut loose on a US$550,000 bond mid-afternoon Wednesday with a first court date of August 17 set. It's not much of a way to wrap up a Barbados holiday and a ride on a private jet, but A$AP is probably just happy to be home.