A$AP Rocky’s Attorney Says Rapper & Rihanna Promised to Name Next Kid Joe (Exclusive)

A$AP Rocky was found not guilty on all counts in his assault case on Tuesday afternoon.

"Extra's" Billy Bush sat down with Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina after their court victory.

Tacopina opened up on the rapper’s emotional reaction to hearing the first not guilty count read. He said, “I knew there were two counts, and you know, I've seen odd things happen in jury verdicts where they could split the verdict… And so after the first not guilty, I'm laser-focused on the clerk to hear that second count. And I look to my right, he's gone. And I didn't know. I didn't know he left. He was just gone. I was like, I said to my partner, ‘Did he leave?’... And I see him on top of Rihanna… I couldn't process quickly enough.”

Cameras captured Rocky immediately leap into Rihanna’s arms, but Joe was trying to maintain his composure. Rocky was facing two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, related to an incident in which he was accused of pulling a gun and firing toward former childhood friend Terell Ephron aka A$AP Relli. 

“I still told my partner, ‘Get him back.’ Here we have another count... So, I'm thinking, ‘My God, if the second count doesn't go well, this is gonna be embarrassing,’” Tacopina admitted. “That was just an emotional explosion.”

The couple is forever grateful to Tacopina. He commented, “Rihanna and Rocky said to me in the courtroom yesterday, they grabbed me and they said, ‘Listen, our next baby is A$AP Joe.’”

Rihanna and Rocky are the parents of sons RZA and Riot.

As for what A$AP was saying to him when they hugged, Joe revealed,  “He said some very nice things. I mean, he told me he loved me, and we're family.”

He elaborated, “But it's not so much the hug that's after the great news. It's what he said to me before the jury came out… He didn't know if he was going to go home and see his two babies that night or start a, you know, a decade-long prison sentence, literally, that day, and he looked at me, and he grabbed me, and he said, ‘Joe, I want you to know I know how hard you fought here. I know everything you've done, and I just appreciate you so much. I appreciate everything you've done for me… and we're in this together no matter what, and I love you.’”

Praising Rocky, Joe noted, “It was special that he did that, and it's just, but it's who he is… That's why I got emotional in that summation at the end, five and a half hours of me speaking straight to a jury. At the end, it all crescendoed when I started talking about him and how important he is to me, and how good of a person he is and Rihanna and their family, and how much I appreciated them putting their trust in me.”

Over the past few years, Tacopina has spent a lot of time with Rocky and his family. He recalled, “When [Rihanna] did the Super Bowl, I was there. I wound up accidentally babysitting for the first child.” 

Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl Halftime show in 2023, where she announced her second pregnancy.

RiRi and Rocky were both prepping for the big day. He explained, “All of a sudden, Rocky said, ‘Can you just take care of a baby? I'm getting a pedicure,’ and I don't even know what a pedicure is… ‘I’ll be done, like, an hour and a half.’ So I babysat for an hour and a half. There was a different type of relationship with him than with most clients.”

Tacopina also explained that Rihanna bringing kids RZA and Riot to court was not about trying to sway the jury.

"Listen, he has a family. It wasn't a secret to this jury," Joe said. "Rihanna was there almost every day."

"But it's helpful for them to see it," Billy suggested. "This is the family he's gonna be away from."

Joe replied, "I don't think it was helpful for them to see it. What the real reason was, was this: That day was summations, and in theory, what we initially believed, the judge had told us he was gonna start the jury deliberations that day right after summations. If they came back with a quick verdict like they did and it didn't go his way, that would be the last time he saw his children."

He continued, "So, she wanted them in court, in the courthouse, the littlest one stayed outside. But, you know, RZA was inside because he's a little older and he comported himself very well, looked like a sweet little gentleman."

Tacopina emphasized, "That's family. It's his family. He has every right to have them there. The judge actually chastised the prosecutor for mentioning that in his summation, said I don't want you mentioning Rihanna or those kids again in the summation. And I don't think that played well, because they were focused on Rihanna and the children and, you know, everything but the facts. We laser-focused on the facts in that summation. Five and a half hours I spoke to that jury, and we talked about the deficiency in the evidence, the facts, and the reasonable doubts in this case. Obviously, after three-plus hours of deliberating after a month-long trial, they agreed."