LOS ANGELES — A$AP Rocky is at a crossroads. He could soar to new heights of celebrity in 2025, or be brought back to earth quickly by a trial starting Tuesday that could led to his imprisonment for years.
The hip-hop star, and longtime partner to Rihanna, with whom he has two toddler sons, is set to touch the highest levels of high fashion as one of the celebrity chairs of the Met Gala in May along with Pharrell Williams, LeBron James and others.
And his modest acting career will get a major boost from starring alongside Denzel Washington in director Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” planned for a summer release.
But at the Los Angeles trial that’s expected to last about three weeks, he is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He’s accused of firing on a former friend on the streets near a Hollywood hotel in 2021. If convicted, he could get up to 24 years in prison.
The 36-year-old has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney says he committed no crime.
“We’re ready to go. It’s been a long time,” defense lawyer Joe Tacopina said after a hearing Wednesday. “It’s been something that’s waiting over Rocky’s head and Rihanna and their family’s heads for a while.”
The trial has its roots in high school in New York, when the Harlem-raised Rakim Mayers, now known as A$AP Rocky, met Terell Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, who will be the trial’s most important witness.
Ephron testified at a 2023 preliminary hearing that he brought Rocky into a crew of young creators who called themselves A$AP — for “Always Strive and Prosper.”
“We had dreams, pretty much,” Ephron said.
He testified that the members remained close even as Rocky became rich and famous, but the relationships would eventually erode.
The feud came to a head in Hollywood on the night of Nov. 6, 2021, when, according to Ephron, Rocky fired at him three or four times, the shots grazing his knuckles.
Ephron went to the police two days later, and brought shell casings he had picked up himself — both points the defense will seize on.
“You need nothing more than Mr. Ephron’s testimony by itself,” Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec, the case’s lead prosecutor, told a judge at the 2023 hearing.
Those anticipating the trial have long been asking whether Rihanna may attend.
“The mother of his children is she going to be here?” Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold asked the defense at an October hearing. “She’s welcome to be here whenever she wants I’d just like to know.”
Tacopina has been unable to give a definitive answer, but has said that he does not expect it.
“He’s very protective of Rihanna and doesn’t want her anywhere near this proceeding,” he said after Wednesday’s hearing. “But that’s a family decision they’ll make.”
In an uncommon move in LA County courts, the judge will allow cameras in court for nearly the entire trial.
“I believe that the public deserves to see what goes on in the courtroom,” he said.
Tacopina has also represented other hip-hop figures, including Meek Mill and YG. The lawyer who normally practices in New York is gregarious, quick with a joke and always happy to talk to the media, but can be ruthless in cross-examination.
When discussing Ephron’s minor injuries at the 2023 hearing, he said, “It’s a miracle he survived that shooting” and was admonished for his tone.
Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, best known for his successful murder prosecution of real estate scion Robert Durst, was a late addition to the prosecution team. He’s also known for his aggressive cross-examination, including a relentless, weeks-long questioning of Durst.