The US rapper Asap Rocky (“Praise the Lord”), who has to go to court for an alleged attack with a firearm, has denied responsibility for the incident. The musician and partner of pop star Rihanna (35) pleaded not guilty before a judge in Los Angeles, US media reported. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said after the hearing that he would show in the trial that the rapper is “truly innocent,” according to Deadline.com.

The allegations relate to an incident in Hollywood in November 2021. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, is accused of pulling out a gun in an argument with an acquaintance and shooting him. The victim was slightly injured, media reports said.

In April 2022, the rapper was briefly taken into custody in Los Angeles for this reason. In August, he was charged with an alleged attack with a firearm. In November, the court found there was sufficient evidence for a trial. The musician has always denied the allegations.

The rapper, who has two small children with Rihanna, was convicted of assault in 2019 after a violent incident in Sweden. He was in custody for around four weeks, but he managed to avoid a longer prison sentence. This was preceded by an argument in Stockholm in which the musician and two of his companions beat up a man on the street.