By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — A$AP Rocky is having quite the moment.
Not only was he one of the co-chairs of the recent Met Gala, but he also is co-starring with Denzel Washington in the forthcoming crime drama, “Highest 2 Lowest.”
The rapper and entrepreneur told Variety that working on the Spike Lee-directed film was a welcome distraction during a recent trial in which he was charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm, stemming from a 2021 shooting incident with a former friend in Los Angeles.
“That’s my only escape,” he told publication of acting. “That’s why I do it.”
He was found not guilty in February.
The character he plays, Yung Felon, has some legal issues and A$AP Rocky leaned into life imitating art at the time.
“That’s why I was able to embody the character so well,” he said. “I was able to act like a piece of s**t who was going away for a long time but didn’t realize the consequences, because in real life, I knew exactly what the consequences felt like.”
And while Rocky has acted before, he said working with Washington, an Oscar-winning legend, whom Rocky revealed “plays more Memphis rap than anybody I know,” was next level.
He also shared that he plans on acting with his longterm partner, superstar singer and beauty mogul Rihanna.
The pair are the parents of two toddler sons, RZA and Riot, and Rihanna revealed just days ago that they couple is expecting their third child.
After he was found not guilty, Rocky ran and threw himself into Rihanna’s arms. He told Variety that of that moment that he remembers feeling “happy and wanting to get the f**k out that building.”
“I was so thankful that the jury made that decision. I was really thankful for how the judge was respectful and treated me like a first-class citizen. And I was thankful for my team and my lawyer, my family and my mom for being there with me the whole time,” he said. “But I could say my mom, the jury, my girl and everybody, but all praises and credit has to go to God. I’m a firm believer in prayer, and I was praying the whole time he was reading off the verdict. And my prayers were answered.”
He’s now more focused on the future, including a planned new album, “Don’t Be Dumb,” and his new movie, which is set to debut in select theaters on August 22 before streaming on Apple TV+ two weeks later.
Rocky will probably watch in a theater, as he said he prefers seeing movies there.
“Cinema is just a portal to an imagination, depicted by somebody else,” he said. “You get to see somebody else’s dream. It’s almost like a filmmaker is a God in his own right.”
The-CNN-Wire
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