Will rapper Yasin, 27, perform at the Trädgården festival in Kristianstad, Sweden, on August 29 and 30? After several prison stints for various offenses, the Swedish hip-hop artist – who was not seen on stage for nine years – could make a major comeback this summer. A first concert, scheduled for May 31 in Umeå in the country's north, was canceled at the last minute after police arrested two young men just hours before – the pair had planned to kill him that same night. While the suspects' identities have not been revealed, ties to organized crime and drug trafficking were immediately established, as Yasin has come to embody gangsta rap – which is now under fire in Sweden amid the wave of violence shaking the Nordic nation.

The genre, which originated in the United States in the 1980s and is rooted in street gang culture, became wildly popular in Sweden from 2015 onward, coinciding with a surge in clashes between rival gangs and a sharp increase in gun murders. The musical success has sparked controversy in the Scandinavian kingdom, where law enforcement and political leaders have condemned the "romanticization of violence."

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