It’s been a week since Rakim Meyers, better known as A$AP Rocky, was acquitted. For those tardy to the party, the “Fashion Killa,” artist was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after his former friend and bandmate, A$AP Relli, alleged the rapper fired several shots at him during a 2021 dispute. A$AP Rocky was facing up to 24 years in prison.
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A$AP Rocky’s Lawyer Gets Candid About Jay-Z, Diddy
The rap star’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, became a major fixture during the case. After getting Rocky a not guilty verdict in a seemingly unwinnable case, Tacopina’s level of celebrity has ballooned following the trial.
However, according to Tacopina, he had notoriety even prior to the A$AP Rocky verdict. According to him, Diddy’s team contacted him about representing him at his upcoming trial. But he ultimately declined because of a rift between Jay-Z and the Bad Boy founder. The lawyer notes his close relationship with Roc Nation would have presented a conflict of interest.
“I represent Roc Nation; a lot of people in Roc I’m very close with,” Tacopina said.
“Jay and [Roc Nation president] Desiree Perez, who’s the most amazing, like—bomb of a boss. Jay is amazing. You know, Jay Brown, all those people are just, like, they really are special, special people. That’s sort of family to me and I don’t think they see eye-to-eye with P. Diddy.”
Things are also continuing to go on a downward spiral for Diddy ahead of his May 5 trial. He recently had one of his attorneys, Anthony Ricco step down.
“Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice,” Ricco wrote in the court affidavit.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out for Diddy in the coming months.
