Rapper Aesop Rocky, Rihanna’s partner and father of her two children, will stand trial in Los Angeles on two counts of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, Reuters and AFP reported.
Rocky, whose birth name is Rakim Meyers, is accused of pointing a gun at another hip-hop singer, Terrell Efron, during an argument, then firing twice in a second confrontation. Both incidents are from November 6, 2021.
Efron had minor injuries, according to prosecutors.
Rocky was arrested in connection with the altercation five months later, in April 2022, when he arrived at Los Angeles Airport on a flight from Barbados. He was indicted in August of that year. A Los Angeles judge has now ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence to go to trial on both assault charges, including that Rocky used a personal firearm during the incidents in question.
The Harlem-born musician, who remains free on bond, has pleaded not guilty in the case. His attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in court that prosecutors did not present enough evidence of the shooting and relied on various security camera videos and witness statements that were not conclusive. The defense also questioned the credibility of Efron’s testimony that he said his left hand was scratched during the shooting.
Efron, who performed under the stage name Aesap Reilly in a hip-hop group he and Rocky once participated in, has also filed a civil suit against his former co-star.
Aesap Rocky’s first and second studio albums, Long.Live.A$AP and Long.Last.A$AP, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2013 and 2015, respectively. His third album, Testing, released in 2018, reached fifth place.
