Rapper A$AP Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, entered a plea of not guilty on Monday to charges arising from accusations that he brandished a firearm at a fellow hip-hop artist and former collaborator in Hollywood, subsequently discharging the weapon at him.

The 35-year-old artist faces two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with allegations of personally using the firearm during the altercations with Terell Ephron on the night of November 6, 2021. Following the hearing at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse, Mayers’ attorney, Joe Tacopina, informed reporters that the defense aims for the case to go to trial by September.

Tacopina stated, “I want to get this done and over so he can start enjoying his family and move on. We’re going to be quiet, and we’re going to try this (case) in a courtroom, and when we do, facts will come out that show that he’s truly innocent and he’s a victim in this case.”

Mayers, currently out on bond, is scheduled for the next hearing in March. Arrested in April 2022 at Los Angeles International Airport, he arrived from Barbados with then-pregnant girlfriend Rihanna. The couple, parents of two children, has been vacationing together.

Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, testified in November that he witnessed Mayers outside a parking garage in an incident partially captured on surveillance video. According to Ephron, Mayers pulled out a gun and threatened him, saying, “I’ll kill you right now.” Ephron pursued Mayers after observing another individual in the rapper’s entourage apparently putting away a pocket knife.

Ephron asserted that Mayers, in his perception, had become “big-headed” due to success. He stated that he confronted Mayers, expressing his disappointment and feeling that the rapper had “failed everybody.” According to Ephron, Mayers then turned around and shot at him, causing injuries to his left hand.

In a civil defamation lawsuit filed last September, Ephron accused Mayers and Tacopina of falsely portraying him as a liar, a money grabber, and a blackmailer in the media. Ephron also filed a lawsuit against Mayers in August 2022 related to the alleged shooting incident.