Fashion
What to Know About ASAP Rocky’s Assault Trial
The rapper rejected a plea deal and will stand trial on two counts of felony assault stemming from a 2021 shooting in Hollywood.
Jury selection started Tuesday in the trial of ASAP Rocky, the hip-hop and fashion impresario, who is accused of firing a gun at a former collaborator near a Hollywood hotel in 2021. He is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Rocky, 36, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, earned fame following the 2011 release of the single “Peso,” and his debut mixtape, “Live. Love.” The New York-based artist was part of the influential rap collective ASAP Mob.
He is also the longtime partner of Rihanna, the famed singer, actress and businesswoman. The status of their relationship has already been a point of legal parsing in the pretrial hearing.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks. If convicted, Rocky faces a maximum of up to 24 years in prison.
Here is what to know about the trial.
What exactly is the trial about?
At a pretrial hearing in November 2023, ASAP Relli, born Terell Ephron, testified that he and Rocky were high school friends who once belonged to the same rap collective.
Their relationship frayed amid Rocky’s rise to fame. Relli and Rocky agreed to meet on the evening of Nov. 6, 2021, to clear their differences, Relli testified.
