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A$AP Rocky is finally having his day in court. The rapper, whose real name is, Rakim Mayers, took the stand on Thursday in a Swedish courtroom to testify about his actions in a confrontation with another man, who Rocky claims was an act of self defense.
A$AP Rocky gave is first testimony on Thursday afternoon saying, “everything [had] seemed to be going fine” when two men approached him and his companions. One of the men, 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari, started talking to his security guard.
“Next thing I know, my security guard was lifting one of them,” the rapper testified, adding that the situation “got a little scary.”
READ MORE: A$AP Rocky’s mom arrives in Sweden as rapper’s assault trial begins
The 30-year-old Harlem native and two other companions were taken into custody on July 3 in Sweden and charged with with assault stemming from the June 30 incident that occurred in Stockholm. Rocky has pleaded not guilty to these charges, Variety reported.
“We didn’t want to provoke these guys. We just wanted to get away from them,” A$AP Rocky told the court, expressing he tried to remove himself from the situation, but Jafari persisted to follow them.
After his testimony the prosecution followed up with a surveillance recording from a nearby restaurant that appeared to show his security guard picking up Jafari by the throat and then dropping him to the ground. Prosecutor Daniel Suneson claims the footage on A$AP Rocky’s Instagram is misleading and edited to fit the rapper’s claim of self-defense, but Suneson insists that the raw footage “disproves the use of emergency defense.”
READ MORE: Sweden wants extension of A$AP Rockly’s detention after fight
According to Variety, Rocky testified that he’s told his bodyguard he must protect him at all costs, but that he’s not a naturally violent man.
“You got to realize my life is very unique and particular,” said A$AP Rocky, describing how he had previously been stabbed in the face and robbed twice at gun point. “I don’t know what to expect when being approached by strangers. That’s why I have security.”
How this all started
A$AP Rocky and his entourage stated that Jafari harassed them and displayed threatening behavior. He also expressed to the court he thought Jafari may have been on drugs.
“He was fearless, his eyes were all weird, he came up to a big bodyguard and asked us questions he knew we couldn’t answer. He looked like he was on drugs,” Rocky said.
But prosecutors allege that the three men assaulted Jafari and hit him with a bottle. Rocky admitted in testimony that he held the bottle momentarily before putting it down.
“I didn’t break any bottles,” the rapper contented further explaining that the bottles were picked up only “to get them out of there,” so they would stop following him.
If convicted, A$AP Rocky is looking at the possibility of a two year prison sentence.
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