Lil Nas X, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, was booked on Thursday on suspicion of misdemeanour obstructing an officer and was being held in jail.
Officers found him walking on the normally very busy Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighbourhood shortly before 6am, Los Angeles police spokesman Officer Charles Miller said.
After charging at arriving police, he was taken into custody, but the officers, suspecting a drug overdose, took him to a hospital first, Miller said.
There was no further word on his condition, but he was released from the hospital and taken to jail after just a few hours.
Video obtained by TMZ appeared to show him on the street wearing only underwear and boots.
He was being held at Valley Jail in Van Nuys, near where the police found him.
Messages to Lil Nas X representatives seeking comment were not immediately answered.
The 26-year-old rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for his huge hit from 2018, Old Town Road, which merged country and hip-hop. It spent a record 19 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
