Rapper A$AP Rocky pleads not guilty to assault charges as court set date for trial

A$AP Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with firearm, after an alleged 2021 shooting incident in Hollywood.

On Wednesday, the Praise the Lord rapper, who welcomed a baby with his girlfriend Rihanna earlier this year, appeared in person in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday to enter the pleas.

He was seen arriving at the courthouse dressed in a black suit and dark glasses and kept his face covered with a safety mask.

Rocky - real name Rakim Mayers - is accused of pointing a semi-automatic gun and firing it twice in the direction of a former friend Terell Ephron during an argument in Hollywood in November 2021.

The rapper was charged earlier this week after Ephron claimed he was shot by the rapper last November. According to media reports, if convicted as charged, the rapper could face up to nine years in prison.

On Aug. 17, the Los Angeles Superior Court Victoria B. Wilson barred the singer from possessing any firearms or ammunition and prohibited from contacting or coming within 100 yards of Ephron.

The court also set a preliminary trial date of November 2 after giving a ruling that the rapper should clear dates with the prosecutors.

Rocky is currently scheduled to headline Rolling Loud New York at Citi Field in Queens on September 24.