Lil Jon Detained in Vietnam Over Personal Stash of Jewelry

Hip hop star Lil Jon was detained in Vietnam over his massive collection of jewelry. The rapper posted on Instagram, letting fans know he had been stopped in the airport due to his huge stash of bling. It took the efforts of the U.S. embassy to get Lil Jon free.

Lil Jon made a name for himself in the late 1990s and early 2000s era of rap music, where chunky jewelry, diamond-encrusted grills and heavy gold chains were a big deal. He still employs that style to this day, but it did not serve him well in Vietnam, as he told his Instagram followers.

“Got detained [in] Vietnam and had to call the U.S. Embassy to come to my rescue,” Lil Jon wrote on his Instagram Story. The picture showed him arm-in-arm with two people in an airport, all three smiling.

“Thanks to these 2 for getting me out,” he added.

In other posts, Lil Jon showed pictures and videos of Vietnamese officials sorting through his belongings, which included big gold chains and other precious jewelry.

The arrest came on Friday, as Lil Jon and his touring crew tried to leave Tan Son Nhat International Airport, according to a report by TMZ. The airport is in Ho Chi Minh City — the nearest international airport to Saigon,where Lil Jon ahd just recently performed.

“Vietnam got me hemmed up over my iceeeee smh,” Lil Jon wrote alongside another post.

So far, Lil Jon has not commented on the incident outside of social media. The rapper seems to be back on track, however, as his Instagram Story is now full of clips from other shows, where delighted crowds scream along to his biggest hits. Lil Jon performs from behind a DJ station for the majority of the set, it seems.

Lil Jon is not the first hip-hop star to be detained overseas, and some fans are beginning to see a pattern. Other big names in the genre — mostly African-American performers — have had trouble traveling that some fans feel they would not have had if they were a different race and nationality.

Back in July, for example, A$AP Rocky was arrested in Sweden on allegations of simple assault following a show. He was then kept behind bars overseas for over a month, as many other musicians and public figures — including President Donald Trump — called for his release.

However, in spite of all the uproar, A$AP Rocky announced this week that he would be returning to Sweden before the year is out. The rapper has a big concert scheduled at Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe arena on Dec. 11, 2019, and according to a report by the L.A. Times, he intends to make it.