GENERAL PRESS 24
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child together on May 13th, 2022. The duo has been quietly dating on and off for years, recently making things official through a string of red carpet appearances, music video cameos, and interviews. The stylist twosome became a trio, though, with the birth of their baby boy, whose name has yet to be revealed. The pregnancy was a true Rihanna spectacle. The pop princess premiered her baby bump in a streetwear-inspired shoot in Harlem last winter with A$AP by her side. From there, she made every appearance possible, bearing her bump in sexy and revealing outfits. Her fashion was so iconic that even though she could not make this year’s Met Gala, they commemorated her with a stone statue of her Vogue cover pose where she wore a lace body suit with her belly front and center. “Shut down the met in marble! What’s more gilded than that? Lol!” Rihanna wrote about the honor, sharing the epic video. “Thank you, @metmuseum and @voguemagazine, for this historic tribute! Y’all bad for this one!”
Despite all the beautiful energy she was receiving in front of the camera, Rihanna’s family was dealing with some legal issues behind the scenes. Boyfriend A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, was taken into custody in Los Angeles this past April in connection with an incident that took place on November 6th, 2021. The arrest happened as the couple was coming back from vacation in Barbados and forced Rihanna to postpone her baby shower.
The incident apparently took place between Rocky and a friend who had gotten into an altercation that escalated. This resulted in A$AP opening fire on his friend before running off with two other people. This is not A$AP’s first time in trouble. In 2019, the model/rapper was arrested in Stockholm, Sweden, in connection to a street fight. He was detained for almost a month before former president Donald Trump got involved and helped him get out. Well, Trump cannot help this time, and it appears that Rocky’s November altercation could result in some real time behind bars. The “Sundress” hitmaker was recently charged in connection to the incident. According to Radar Online, “The Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced his office had filed two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm with allegations of personally using a firearm.”
Gascón continued by saying, “Discharging a [weapon] in a public place is a serious offense that could have ended with tragic consequences not only for the person targeted but also for innocent bystanders visiting Hollywood,” Gascón says that this office has conducted a thorough review of the evidence and have decided that special firearm allegations were needed. If convicted, A$AP can face up to 12 years in prison.
So, where does this leave his new baby and baby mother, Rihanna? Rihanna is a global pop star turned make-up and lingerie mogul, so she is not hurting for help or money. The “We Found Love” singer has been very vocal about how ready she was for motherhood and how excited she is to grow her family. She and A$AP have gushed about each other in interviews, and Rihanna has discussed being a hands-on mom and very protective.
She extends this intense love to her partner A$AP and is said to be super supportive of him during this time. “Rihanna and A$AP are staying strong as a couple,” a close source to US Magazine. “Their love for each other hasn’t changed. Rihanna is always supportive of him no matter what. They will get through his legal battle and will just come out stronger.”
If A$AP is going to be behind bars for the next 12 years, Rihanna will certainly be sad, but the beauty has already talked in depth about being ok as a single mother. In a 2020 interview with British Vogue, she opened up about her ten-year plans and how it included 3 to 4 kids with or without a partner. At the time, it was confirmed that she had split from billionaire Hassan Jameel after three years of dating. She told the publication, “I feel like society makes me want to feel like, ‘Oh, you got it wrong.’ They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives.” She continued, “But the only thing that matters is happiness; that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That’s the only thing that can raise a child, truly, is love.”
Despite Rihanna’s success and ability to take care of her son alone, fans are not happy with ASAP Rocky’s actions. One fan tweeted, ASAP doing his best job to make Rihanna a single mother. While others continue to resurface interviews of Rihanna claiming she’d love to be a single mother.
