Bulelwa Hoala

American rapper A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, was found not guilty by a 12-person jury for two assault charges he was facing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Mayers was accused of firing a gun at his former childhood friend A$AP Relli, real name Terell Ephron, and had he been found guilty, he would’ve faced up to 24 years in prison.
According to reports, the Grammy-nominated rapper and Ephron were involved in a heated argument in Hollywood on 6 November 2021.
During their second confrontation, Mayers allegedly fired a gun twice at Ephron which left him with grazed knuckles.
Mayers’ lawyers argued that the gun was a prop used in music videos and only shot blanks.
When the verdict was delivered on Tuesday, Mayers jumped over the wooden barrier to hug his partner, Rihanna, who is also the mother of their two children, RZA (2) and Riot (1).
“Thank God for saving my life,” Mayers said to the jury.
Watch the video below:
A$AP Rocky hugs Rihanna after his Not Guilty verdict.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 19, 2025
pic.twitter.com/QG1BdEEHxX
Meanwhile, Rihanna took to her Instagram stories to express how grateful she is for the verdict and wrote, “THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD AND GOD ALONE! THANKFUL, HUMBLED BY HIS MERCY!”

The BBC says the rapper is set to release his first solo album in nearly a decade and has been scheduled to co-headline the Rolling Loud Festival in March 2025.
He also stars alongside Denzel Washington in the upcoming Spike Lee movie, Highest 2 Lowest.
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