A$AP Relli, a former close associate of rapper A$AP Rocky, took the stand Tuesday (January 28) as the trial against Rocky entered its second day.
Rocky faces two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for allegedly firing a gun at Relli during a heated altercation in November 2021.
Testifying in court, Relli painted a picture of a fractured 15-year friendship that soured as the two grew apart.
What was once a bond forged in high school and their membership in the A$AP collective turned tense, culminating in an alleged shooting incident on Hollywood Boulevard on November 6, 2021.
“Truthfully, it was all like a movie. It was weird, just the way he was walking, the whole thing. It just caught me off guard. There was no time to talk, no time for nothing,” Relli recalled the encounter.
Relli testified that the tension reached its boiling point on November 5, 2021, when he overheard a phone call in which A$AP Rocky referred to him as a “b####.”
The remark, Relli noted, was not an isolated incident but emblematic of what he described as an ongoing strained relationship with the rapper.
“It’s kind of always been like that. It’s really hard having a relationship, Rocky. In my personal experience, he lies a lot,” Relli said.
The following day, Relli said, Rocky initiated contact, accusing him of “ducking” him through text messages and FaceTime calls.
Relli eventually shared his location with Rocky, believing they might resolve their issues. Instead, an altercation unfolded.
During the confrontation, Relli described Rocky’s behavior as aggressive and strange. He testified that Rocky arrived with members of the A$AP collective, including A$AP Twelvyy and A$AP Illz, and escalated tensions instead of diffusing them.
Relli claimed Rocky taunted him, saying, “What now p####?” before the situation spiraled into chaos.
“To be honest, I would never fight Rocky. And that’s God’s honest truth. I don’t have a reason to fight him. We’re in an industry where you get blackballed really easy. I’m obviously on the lower end of the stick here. So that’s why, in the video, you notice I’m a lefty. He grabbed me with two hands, and if I wanted to fight him, I would have hit him with the right,” Relli testified, maintaining that he sought no physical confrontation with the rapper.
Relli also described his fear of professional repercussions stemming from the feud. “If I fight Rocky and I beat him up… I’m definitely getting blackballed,” he said, addressing the power dynamics within the music industry.
Prosecutors allege that Rocky fired a gun during the altercation, grazing Relli’s knuckles, while the defense insists that Rocky only fired a starter pistol to de-escalate the fight.
A$AP Rocky, who faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted, has declined a plea deal requiring six months of jail time.
His legal team is expected to argue that Relli’s accusations are financially motivated, citing a civil lawsuit Relli filed against the rapper as evidence.
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