A$AP Rocky Says He ‘Manifested’ His Relationship With Rihanna, Here’s How Their Love Story Actually Went Down

There’s no debating that A$AP Rocky and Rihanna are one of music’s hottest couples. But how did the Harlem rapper and the Barbadian “bad gal” find themselves coupled with three kids? Well, if you ask Rocky, it was all a matter of divine manifestation.

At least that’s the sentiment he shared in a new interview with Jason Lee for the latest episode of his podcast. During their chat, the “Helicopter” rapper explained that when he was 16, he told himself he would get RiRi one day after seeing her pop out on the music scene with her 2005 debut single, “Pon De Replay.”

“I’m a get that b*tch one day, word to….Manifestation is a motherf*cker,” he said. “I just always thought she was pretty, like the rest of us, I guess. I knew she was my speed, for real.”

Related: A$AP Rocky Says His Mama Knew This About Rihanna

Rocky went on to explain that he ran into Rihanna nearly six years later while he was trying to get into a club. Despite showing up with the late Virgil Abloh and the creative director of Givenchy at the time, the folks at the door refused to let him in. This, in turn, caused the “STAY HERE 4 LIFE” rapper to get “tight” and make a scene outside. Moments later, Rihanna popped her head outside and yelled at the people at the door to let Rocky and his crew in.

“We just locked eyes, and I just stopped what I was doing, type sh*t. It was [love at first sight]. I’mma come clean, not in a cheesy way, but it was what it was,” he said before admitting feeling embarrassed that she caught him acting out.

However, that incident didn’t appear to taint the “Diamond” singer’s perception of Rocky, as months after the club run-in, her people called him to see if he could record a verse for her 2011 song, “Cockiness.” But that wasn’t all she asked! RiRi also wanted him to perform the verse with her live the very next day at the 2012 MTV Awards.

Rocky then revealed that earlier that year, the singer came to check out his Coachella debut performance, essentially laying the groundwork for their eventual meeting.

“She actually came to my Coachella before that, so she knew she was my boo. She was diggin’ a ni**a. She lined it up! See, you reading in between the f*cking lines! Everybody try to make it seem like it’s me! She was fake stalking me, but we not gon call it what it is,” Rocky joked. (Hmm, it seems like she may have been manifesting him all the while, too!)

The rapper went on to explain that when the two of them met for rehearsal for the MTV Awards, they were wearing similar outfits and shoes—yet another sign of some clear synergy between them.

“I knew she liked me, I liked her. She had the doobie wrap, and I was like, ‘damn, this b*tch, she remind me of like a Harlem b*tch. She was just fly,” he said.

He concluded by admitting that the now-famous butt grab during their performance wasn’t planned, but that he did it for his hometown and was subsequently embraced for it.

“I grabbed her ass for Harlem. You would’ve thought the [New York] Knicks won. Everybody in Harlem was proud of me when I did that, I did that for Harlem!” he said.

However, despite their apparent immediate chemistry, it was seven years before the two officially started dating. Although we give Rocky credit for ultimately winning over the woman of his dreams, his mother may have indirectly contributed to his love story, as he said in a separate podcast interview in January 2026 that she “always wanted him with RiRi.”

“Mothers know best,” Rocky said at the time. It looks like she was right after all.