As Rihanna, accompanied by their two toddlers, watched intently from the audience, a prosecutor at the trial of A$AP Rocky addressed the jurors during his closing argument on Thursday, highlighting that they faced "a singular, pivotal question." "Was it an authentic firearm or merely a fake?" Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec posed, emphasizing, "Every other detail is unchallenged."
In the Los Angeles courtroom where the hip-hop icon stands accused of discharging a weapon at a former friend on a Hollywood street in 2021, both parties presented their conclusions during the closing statements. Przelomiec insisted that Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers, was unequivocally culpable of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The defense countered, asserting that the gun was merely a prop designed to fire blanks, which Rocky had obtained for security purposes months prior from the set of his music video for "DMB," featuring Rihanna. Rocky's attorney, Joe Tacopina, labeled the accuser—a key prosecution witness—as an "incensed, pathological liar" who had "committed perjury repeatedly."
Rihanna, the singing superstar and long-time partner of Rocky, occasionally attended the trial but made a dramatic entrance this time, bringing their sons—2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers—dressed in tiny suits. As the prosecutor spoke, the boys could be heard giggling softly. Rihanna held one on her lap, attempting to hush him with a toy. During a recess, Rocky, cradling the younger child, walked down the hallway past the jurors. After lunch, Rihanna returned to the court without them.
The defense will conclude its closing argument on Friday. Following a rebuttal by the prosecution, the jurors will embark on their deliberations. If convicted, Rocky faces a potential sentence of up to 24 years in prison, although the jurors are unaware of this possible penalty. However, during testimony, Rocky's tour manager, Lou Levin, inadvertently revealed this information when pressed by a prosecutor about his desire to see his friend and occasional boss convicted, stating, "I read that he was facing 24 years."
In his closing statement, Przelomiec emphasized that the incident was deliberate. Rocky and the alleged victim, known as A$AP Relli, had been friends since high school in New York and were both members of the creative collective known as the A$AP Mob.
Their friendship endured even as Rocky soared to international fame with chart-topping albums in 2012 and 2013. However, by November 6, 2021, their bond had deteriorated into a contentious rift. Outside a glitzy Hollywood hotel, the once close friends encountered each other and exchanged blows. Moments later, in a second confrontation, Rocky discharged shots, one of which grazed Relli's knuckles, according to Relli. Tacopina, defending Rocky, dismissed the injury as mere "knuckle scrapes," arguing, "No bullet in existence could have inflicted such a wound," as he displayed a photograph of Relli's hand to the jury.
A$AP Twelvyy, a companion of Rocky's who was present at the scene, attested that Rocky fired the shots as a precautionary measure to thwart Relli from assaulting another member of their entourage, A$AP Illz. The chaotic incident was partially captured on a grainy surveillance video, leaving ample room for interpretation. The footage depicted Relli holding Illz in front of him amidst the fray.
The prosecution contended that Rocky advanced with the intent of securing a clear shot at Relli without endangering Illz. In rebuttal, Tacopina scoffed, "They want you to believe that Rocky would fire a live round at his friend Illz, who was mere inches away. It defies logic."
Twelvyy and Levin corroborated that Rocky had fired blanks from a prop gun, which everyone involved was aware he carried. Przelomiec, the prosecutor, alleged that both witnesses' testimonies were rehearsed and synchronized. "Their testimonies were nothing but fabrications," he declared.
During the trial, it was also alleged that Rocky coached Twelvyy in real-time when the witness was questioned about the meaning of AWGE, the acronym for Rocky's creative agency and record label. "Don't say it!" Rocky exclaimed, steadfastly guarding the secret.
Tacopina countered by asserting that the defense witnesses were consistent and composed, unlike the accuser, who was petulant and inconsistent in his statements. "They never stumbled once," the lawyer emphasized to the jury, "because the truth is effortlessly retained."
Neither party presented a gun as tangible evidence. The prosecutor noted, "There is absolutely no proof of a prop gun." Tacopina retorted, "There is decidedly less evidence of a real gun."
Additionally, Relli filed a lawsuit against Rocky, with Rocky's legal team portraying Relli as a jealous individual seeking financial gain. In phone conversations intercepted by a mutual acquaintance and subsequently provided to Rocky, Relli allegedly vowed to sue Rocky for millions. "Had Relli secured his 30 million," Tacopina speculated, "there would be no complainant in this case."
Relli testified that the recordings, introduced by the defense as evidence, were fabricated. Nonetheless, the prosecution played extended excerpts during the closing arguments, highlighting how Relli's statements on the recordings were "precisely what he told you here in court." "Mr. Ephron seeks compensation," Przelomiec stated, "because he was the genuine victim of a crime."
