A$AP Rocky will return to a Los Angeles court Tuesday ahead of his trial for allegedly shooting his childhood friend nearly three years ago.
The 36-year-old “Praise Da Lord (Da Shine)” rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, has a pretrial conference set for 11:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
The father of Rihanna’s two children has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm after allegedly firing shots at rapper A$AP Relli in November 2021.
A$AP Rocky, wearing Gucci, attends the 2023 LACMA Art+Film Gala, Presented By Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 4, 2023, in Los Angeles.
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A jury trial is set for November 12 at 11:30 a.m. EST.
Newsweek has contacted representatives for A$AP Rocky and prosecutors for comment.
This case has long been plagued with delays. In May, a trial date was set for October 21. At the time, A$AP Rocky’s lawyer, Sara Caplan, said she was still waiting for the medical records related to A$AP Relli’s alleged hospital visit, Rolling Stone reported.
A$AP Rocky was first arrested for the alleged shooting in April 2023. He was released from police custody on a $550,000 bond.
The Context
In a preliminary hearing last November, prosecutors presented video evidence of an alleged shooting that took place on November 6, 2021, at the intersection of Selma and Vista Del Mar Avenues in Hollywood.
The footage shows an unidentified man walking along the sidewalk near a parking garage before engaging in a physical altercation with another individual. The two move out of the camera’s view while grappling with each other, as a third person attempts to intervene.
Prosecutors claim this video depicts the beginning of the confrontation between A$AP Rocky and A$AP Relli, whose legal name is Terell Ephron.
In November, a Los Angeles Police Department detective testified that video footage from a parking garage appeared to show Rocky holding a gun. However, the detective later admitted that no weapons were recovered and that the video was inconclusive.
Although the video lacked audio, surveillance from nearby buildings captured sounds of what prosecutors claimed to be gunfire.
Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar noted that A$AP Relli claimed he had been shot, and stated she needed only a “scintilla of evidence” to establish probable cause.
In his testimony, Relli described the incident as an armed ambush. He said tensions had escalated after sending Rocky an angry text on October 28, accusing the rapper of being “big-headed” and failing to cover funeral costs for a mutual friend, as promised. The text, which read “you so f–king fake it’s sad,” was shown in court. Rocky did not respond.
After the exchange, A$AP Relli testified that he was in a car with A$AP Bari (real name Jabari Shelton), who was on the phone with A$AP Rocky. A$AP Relli overheard A$AP Rocky saying, “he’d beat me up, that I’m emotional.”
A week later, on November 6, 2021, A$AP Rocky allegedly reached out to A$AP Relli, and they agreed to meet in person. A$AP Relli testified that this meeting turned into a setup for the shooting.
“I was talking a bunch of sh-t,” A$AP Relli said in court. “I wasn’t doing anything physically. I was just so mad. I wanted him to hear my side. I knew I was never going to see this man again.”
A$AP Relli claimed A$AP Rocky fired several shots before fleeing, with the first shot grazing his left hand.
Judge Villar ruled that there was enough evidence, including video footage and A$AP Relli’s testimony, to proceed with the charges, stating there was “sufficient evidence to believe that Mayers is guilty of having committed the crimes as charged.”
A$AP Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, has called the allegations a “false scenario” and argued that A$AP Relli was attempting to extort money from the rapper.
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna pose for a picture as they celebrate her beauty brands Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin at Goya Studios on February 11, 2022, in Los Angeles
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Who is A$AP Rocky?
A$AP Rocky is a member of the Harlem-based hip-hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he derives his stage name (“ASAP” stands for Always Strive and Prosper).
His debut studio album, Long.Live.A$AP (2013), was a commercial success and featured hit singles like “Goldie” and “F**kin’ Problems.” He followed up with At.Long.Last.A$AP (2015) and Testing (2018), showing a willingness to experiment with his sound.
In addition to his music career, A$AP Rocky is also known for his work in fashion, collaborating with various high-profile brands and being recognized as a fashion icon.
A$AP Rocky served over a month in jail in 2019 after being arrested in Sweden for simple assault. Videos uploaded to the rapper’s Instagram showed him and his entourage repeatedly asking the two young men to stop following them. A second clip shows the man who accused A$AP Rocky of the alteration hitting the rapper’s bodyguard with his headphones.
Following years of friendship, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna started dating in 2020. They share sons RZA, 2, and Riot, 1.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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