UPDATE: All charges against the rapper have been dropped after the following statement: ""There was a misunderstanding with security at the Byron Falls Festival show, which resulted in charges being laid by NSW Police. After fully cooperating with Police, Joey was granted bail and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge".

New York rapper Joey Bada$$ has found himself on the wrong side of the law in Australia after being charged with assaulting a security guard on January 2 at the Falls Music Festival near Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.

According to ABC, an altercation between Bada$$ – real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott – and the guard took place just before the 19-year-old took to the stage at 8.30pm. The performance went ahead but Byron Bay Police arrested Bada$$ shortly after he came off stage. He was taken to a nearby station, where he spent the night.

The guard reportedly told police that he believed Joey Bada$$ to be an unauthorised person in the backstage area. Bada$$ didn't take too kindly to having his credentials questioned and the guard was treated by paramedics for a broken nose.

The rapper appeared at Lismore County Court one day after his arrest and was granted bail, but must return to Australia on March 19 to face the court. He's still got another week or so in the country, with his tour extending to Sydney and Melbourne.

His debut album B4.DA.$$ is set to land on January 20, two years after he made waves with 1999, his first mixtape.