In March, Rihanna’s Los Angeles mansion was shot up, and with her and A$AP Rocky being shaken up because it’s one of the primary homes where they raise their kids, they left the property but haven’t spoken out about the scary incident.
So, Rocky, who’s on the cover of VIBE, explained to journalist Jeff Ihaza his immediate reaction to the shooting.
“It was f-cked up. It was hurtful,” Rocky said. “It was scary, all that sh-t. You know? Somebody attempted at me and my family. That sh-t was just f-cked up, and it was unprovoked. It was out of nowhere.”
When the topic turns to how online culture leads to such intense fan interactions, Rocky says it existed before that, when people like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio got mobbed at hotels, or even Kanye West.
He adds that, “Fans that [are] real loyal fans, and stans [who] love you that much-they gonna figure out a way to get to you, welcome you.”
Rocky refuses to lump in deranged fans with real diehards.
“There are mentally challenged people out there, obviously. And there are people who are mentally ill and sh-t, and there are lots of people who are normal and are just fans,” he said. “And that incident definitely had changed a lot. But it took away a lot of peace and happiness of being able to just be free. But in my own city, I do not feel afraid or threatened.”
Despite the direness of the situation, he doesn’t want to cut them off completely.
“Sometimes they want a hug. They want an autograph, they want a ‘what’s up?’ They want a picture. They want simple sh-t, you know?” he said. “And I don’t want that one incident to set a precedent.”
The Harlem native says that he feels completely safe when he’s in New York, though.
The alleged assailant is 35-year-old Ivanna Ortiz of Florida. She’s currently sitting in jail awaiting a competency hearing after being charged with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper.
She’s pleaded not guilty, but if found guilty, she could face life behind bars.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rocky spoke about being a dad of three, the loss of Virgil Abloh, and more.
