A$AP Rocky is on trial in the US after being accused of firing blank shots at a former friend during a feud three years ago.
The rapper allegedly fired at his childhood friend Terell Ephron on November 6, 2021, outside a parking garage in Hollywood.
A$AP Rocky, the partner of Rihanna and father of her two children, has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. His lawyers claim it was a prop gun incapable of firing live rounds.
Jurors were shown a video that, according to prosecutors, clearly depicts Rocky—real name Rakim Athelaston Mayers—firing the weapon. However, the footage does not actually show the gun being fired, sparking debate over its incriminating nature.
It shows a struggle between two men, with others intervening before one of the figures, dressed in a black sweatshirt, pulls out a gun.
"The evidence in this case will show that the man in the black sweatshirt is the defendant, Rakim Mayers," deputy district attorney Paul Przelomiec said, adding this point is uncontested.
But Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina began his defence on Friday, making out that the pistol only shot blanks and that the rapper carries it for protection - something Mr Ephron knows.
Complainant Mr Ephron is also known as A$AP Relli and was part of the A$AP Mob, a collective of a dozen plus creators and rappers who have all found success - but none more so than Rocky. The A$AP Mob has now been discontinued and its website is no longer live.
It is understood the other two figures who broke up the fight between Rocky and Relli were also A$AP Mob members and that the four are long time friends.
Mr Tacopina said that Relli’s legal action was driven by "jealousy, lies and greed". He argued that police had searched the area and found no evidence of a weapon or gun shells.
He remained confident in victory with Rocky having already decided to go to trial, rejecting a guilty plea offer that would see him spend 180 days behind bars.
Rihanna has not been seen in court.
The trial is now set to last about three weeks and a guilty verdict could see Rocky given a worst case scenario maximum sentence of 24 years.
