6 facts about A$AP Rocky, pregnant Rihanna’s boyfriend and rumoured fiancé: he’s vegan, dated Kendall Jenner and was Dior Homme’s first black model
- Rihanna split from billionaire boyfriend Hassan Jameel in January 2020, while Rocky has been previously linked with Iggy Azalea and Victoria’s Secret angel Chanel Iman
- He was taught to rap by late brother Ricky and turned his back on a life of crime – today the hip-hop star models for Gucci, DKNY, Alexander Wang and Calvin Klein
The Barbadian singer, 33, first became close to the rapper born Rakim Athelaston Mayers when he joined her Diamonds World Tour in 2013. She returned the favour by starring in his music video Fashion Killa later that year. Rumours of romance between them began to spread soon after Rihanna split from her then-boyfriend, the billionaire Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel, in January 2020.
The rapper, also 33, experienced poverty and jail on his way to becoming a millionaire artist today (estimated net worth: US$10 million). But what else do we know about the father of Rihanna’s first child, who in an interview with GQ called her “love of his life”?
1. He had a tough childhood
Rocky’s younger years were turbulent. His father was jailed for dealing drugs when he was 12, and the following year his older brother was murdered while dealing, per The Guardian. Rocky followed in their footsteps to support his mother and sister as they wandered around homeless shelters. The future star was himself arrested for drug peddling in 2004, and was imprisoned for two weeks at Rikers Island, where he shared a cell with fellow rapper Casanova.
“Most rappers sold drugs at some point and I hate to be so cliché, but that is the way that my story goes too,” he told The Independent.
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in 2020, he gave back to Regent Family Residence, the homeless shelter where his family once stayed, donating 120 meals for 83 families living there, per Revolt.