A$AP Rocky may take the risk of taking the stand in his own defense on Tuesday at his trial over two felony counts of ᴀssault with a semiautomatic firearm.

In discussion with a Los Angeles judge on the last phases of Rocky’s trial, his lawyer Joe Tacopina said that either his client would testify early Tuesday or the defense would rest its case. 

An attorney for the prosecution said his team was going to spend the night preparing for Rocky’s testimony.

He is not legally required to testify, and subjecting a defendant to a difficult cross-examination is often a major gamble in criminal cases.

Tacopina said before the trial that Rocky was ‘eager to tell his story. He would love the opportunity to do so.’

The attorneys could not give comment outside court Monday because a judge has forbidden them from speaking to the media. Rocky faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted, after turning down a pre-trial plea deal that could have led to just 180 days in jail.

A$AP Rocky may take the risk of taking the stand in his own defense on Tuesday at his trial over two felony counts of ᴀssault with a semiautomatic firearm. In discussion with a Los Angeles judge on the last phases of Rocky’s trial, his lawyer Joe Tacopina said that either his client would testify early Tuesday or the defense would rest its case. Seen Monday at court

An attorney for the prosecution said his team was going to spend the night preparing for Rocky’s testimony. He is not legally required to testify, and subjecting a defendant to a difficult cross-examination is often a major gamble in criminal cases

If Rocky testifies, he´ll probably have to face a long and combative cross-examination from Deputy District Attorney John Lewin. In his most famous case, Lewin kept real estate heir Robert Durst on the stand for nine days of relentless questioning before he was convicted of murder.

Rocky is a Grammy-nominated hip-hop star, fashion mogul and the longtime partner of singing superstar Rihanna, with whom he has two toddler sons. She may appear Tuesday to watch his testimony.

She has shown up sporadically – most recently on Friday, when they left the courthouse together for the first time, walking arm-in-arm.

Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, would likely testify that a gun he fired twice – in a scuffle with a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021 – was a starter pistol that only fired blanks, and that he carried it for security.

On Monday, his tour manager became the second witness from Rocky’s inner circle to testify that he carried the phony gun.

Lou Levin said he told the rapper it made sense to carry it after Rocky’s house had been broken into by a stalker and others.

‘Security and I thought it would be a good idea, because of the prior violence,’ Levin said. ‘It´s just a nonlethal form of self-defense.’

His partner Rihanna leaves Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on January 31, 2025

Levin said he got the gun from a video shoot in the summer of 2021, about three months before the incident that led to the charges, and on the day itself.

He told the jury that he returned the phony gun to the music video’s co-director, who no longer had it when Levin asked about it after Rocky’s arrest. The defense said it does not have the starter pistol now.

Authorities also did not recover the pistol they allege Rocky used.

Levin testified that an ammunition magazine found in Rocky’s house by officers serving a search warrant actually belonged to him.

Lewin, the prosecutor, said ‘you had to come up with a story’ to explain the magazine. He later called every aspect of the story ‘a lie.’

‘I didn´t have to come up with a story – it´s the truth,’ Levin said.

Meanwhile, Rihanna gave her followers a first look at her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty’s latest collaboration with the upcoming Smurfs film, in which she will be the voice of Smurfette.

On Monday, the singer, 36, modeled multiple pieces from the collection, $13.18 scoop-neck bralette, $6 boy short underwear and light blue sweatpants, which retail for $35.98.

In other images, she slipped on a zip-up hoodie and struck various Sєxy poses while sitting on the floor as she seductively stared into the camera lens.

For the pH๏τo shoot, she styled her dark black hair in pigtails and rocked a bright blue eyeshadow and matching sneakers.

‘We’re team Smurfette in this house,’ Savage X Fenty captioned the post. ‘The cutest collab you didn’t know you NEEDED. ✨ Shop the new Savage X Smurfs collection on the site now.’  

Over the past week, Rihanna has been busy supporting her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky, 36, whom she shares sons RZA, two, and Riot, one, amid his ongoing felony ᴀssault trial. 

Rihanna gave her followers a first look at her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty’s latest collaboration with the upcoming Smurfs film, in which she will be the voice of Smurfette

Thursday marked her fourth appearance at a Los Angeles courthouse, where she has reportedly attempted to keep a low profile during the proceedings. 

A$AP, real name Rakim Athelaston Mayers, is on trial for allegedly shooting his former friend A$AP Relli in 2021.

Read More A$AP Rocky speaks out for the first time in gun trial as it kicks off with bombshell report

The New York-bred rapper is being charged with two felony counts of ᴀssault with a semiautomatic weapon, and he has pleaded not guilty.

Rihanna has allegedly been seated alongside Mayers’ mother and sister in the front row of the courtroom, with several security guards around them, throughout the trial.

She has stuck beside Rakim since his initial arrest in April 2022, which happened when the pair were returning to LAX after a vacation in Barbados.

Prosecutors allege that on November 6, 2021, Mayers pointed a gun at his former friend during a confrontation, shooting at him and leaving him with minor injuries.

A$AP Relli, real name Terell Ephron, testified against Mayers at an earlier hearing, claiming that he held a gun to his stomach and threatened, ‘I’ll kill you right now,’ before firing at least four sH๏τs.

It is alleged that one of the sH๏τs hit Ephron’s hand, and that he reported the shooting the following day.

On Monday, the singer, 36, modeled multiple pieces from the collection, $13.18 scoop-neck bralette, $6 boy short underwear and light blue sweatpants, which retail for $35.98

In other images, she slipped on a zip-up hoodie and struck various Sєxy poses while sitting on the floor and staring seductively into the camera lens

Two 9mm shell casings were recovered by Ephron after he returned to the scene of the alleged shooting, however police say the weapon Mayers allegedly fired was never found.

Earlier this month A$AP Rocky ‘respectfully declined’ a plea deal that would have seen him serve just six months in jail alongside a seven-year suspended sentence and three years of probation.

Ephron was a former friend and collaborator of Mayers. The pair struck up a friendship as teenagers while attending high school in New York.

They were members of the A$AP collective, a group of students who made music and created art together. A$AP Mob, which stands for ‘Always Strive And Prosper,’ was established in 2005, with Rocky joining in 2007.

Rihanna has been busy supporting her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky , 36, whom she shares sons RZA, two, and Riot, one, amid his ongoing felony ᴀssault trial (seen in 2023)

Ephron said their friendship continued as Mayers’ fame grew, but began to decline when the D.M.B. music artist started backing out of business deals.

At pre-trial hearings in November, Mayers’ attorneys attempted to spare him a trial, arguing that surveillance video of the rapper holding a gun should not be permissible as evidence.

Prosecutors claim the video showed Mayers firing the weapon, which the rapper’s attorneys denied.

Detective Frank Flores of the Los Angeles Police Department testified at an earlier hearing that footage showed a gun in the rapper’s hand, but when pressed by the defense, he conceded a weapon was never recovered.