Interesting Facts That Happened at A$AP Rocky’s Gun Trial This Week

Things are revving up for rapper A$AP Rocky and his ongoing criminal trial. The Root previously reported the MC, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, is facing serious charges in connection to a 2021 incident in Hollywood where he allegedly shot at a former friend and A$AP mob member.

The rapper is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, according to the New York Post. If found guilty, Rocky could be facing up to 24 years behind bars.

Now, the jury has been selected, and his trial is expected to begin ASAP. So, with Rocky’s trial officially starting, here’s just a few interesting details you might be interested in knowing.

Mayers is clearly feeling confident about the case against him because he refused to take a plea... twice! “Yes, he was offered a plea deal but is not interested because he is actually innocent,” Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopia, told ABC News. “The terms were 180 days in jail, three years probation and a few other minor conditions on a plea to an assault with a gun charge.”

In fact, TikTok podcaster @imnotalawyerbut attended day one of jury selection, and according to her, when offered the deal, the rapper leaned into his mic and told Judge Mark Arnold “I respectfully decline.” The judge then asked if the Harlem native was sure, and to that, Rocky doubled down.

As jury selection progressed on Wednesday, Jan. 22, Judge Arnold asked A$AP about the women seated in his section of the gallery. When the rapper identified one of the women as his mother, Renee Black, and the other as his sister, the judge and Rocky’s lawyer then took some time to speak on her beauty.

“You can’t tell, right, which one’s the mom?” attorney Tacopina said according to legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff on X.

“You must have had him when you were about 7,” the judge told Black, who responded saying she gave birth when she was 26. “You are very beautiful,” Judge Arnold then told her. “That’s on the record.”

Even though Rocky’s on trial, it seems the prosecution is worried about the mother of his two children, Rihanna. According to TMZ, while selecting the jury, lawyers asked questions specifically about the Bajan star.

Among the questions asked were whether people ever heard of A$AP or Rihanna, listened to their music, or downloaded their songs. Additionally, whether they’ve ever bought Fenty products— like Fenty Beauty makeup or Savage x Fenty— came up in selection.

It was done in efforts to ensure an unbiased jury... but let’s be real, Rihanna is a global pop superstar with several multi-billion dollar businesses. Finding any person in the U.S. that hasn’t bought her products or at least her music had to be difficult for the prosecution.

In the end, a jury was selected, and you may be interested to know of the 12 jurors, none of them are Black. And with the judge being a white man, this trial is shaping up to be very interesting.

According to TMZ, seven of the jurors are women; the other five are men, but in the city of Los Angeles, it seems like a jury of Rocky’s peers doesn’t include any Black folks. The jurors are reportedly white, Asian, and Hispanic. Four alternate jurors selected are all women, and none of them are Black either.