A$AP Rocky is giving Rihanna her flowers.

During a conversation with Jason Lee for The Jason Lee Show, the Harlem rapper, 37, opened up about the people who’ve had the biggest impact on his life, reflecting on the devastating losses of his father and older brother while sharing how the Barbadian singer-songwriter, 38, has stood by him through some of his darkest moments.

Looking back on learning that his father had died while he was in Paris around Christmas 2012, Rocky (born Rakim Athelston Mayers) recalled that the Grammy-winning superstar was the first person to show up for him.

“This don’t got nothing to do with her accolades or her money,” he told Lee, 48. “The truth of the matter is, when my dad died, she was there for me.”

He continued, “Every time I’m at my lowest and darkest place, rather if we just friends platonically or we in a couple relationship, she always f—in’ there for me.”

At the time, Rocky was experiencing one of the biggest highs of his career while enduring one of the lowest moments of his life.

“My first album went No. 1; my dad died on Christmas. I was on my bathroom floor in Paris crying,” he said. “She called me for some reason to congratulate me. We both in Paris… Shorty rushed to [my side]. I don’t even know how Rihanna got the key to my room. I stopped answering my phone and she walked right in, ‘Yo, you good?’ That really was my friend.”

Although they didn’t publicly confirm their romance until 2020 after years of speculation, Rocky’s story highlights the deep bond the pair shared long before they became a couple. They now share three children together: sons RZA and Riot and daughter Rocki.

Elsewhere in the interview, Rocky reflected on how surviving profound loss has changed the way he approaches life.

“All jokes aside, I was really moved and I know that like my brother and Yams and my dad is just up there working their magic, bro. They got to be. This is just like it’s beyond me and beyond my understanding,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of situations that I prayed that I would get out of unscathed and God blessed me like that. That situation taught me don’t take life for granted and value your people you love.”

The “Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” rapper also spoke candidly about his older brother, Ricky, who died when Rocky was a teenager. When asked why he rarely discusses him publicly, Rocky said it wasn’t intentional.

“Nah, it’s not,” he explained. “I love my brother. That was not only big bro. That was like a person who was like my dad.”

Rocky also shared that he idolized his brother growing up, even briefly trying to follow in his footsteps before he ultimately steered him away from street life.

“I thought I wanted to be a baller. I wanted that Chevy. I wanted that Caprice,” he remembered with a laugh, admitting he briefly tried dealing drugs before realizing it wasn’t for him. “After I got chased, I was like, ‘Yo, I’m not made for this.’”

Instead, Rocky said his brother pushed him toward school and encouraged him to choose a different path.

“When you lose somebody like that who’s the first person that really believes you, that is hard for real,” Rocky shared. “So, I didn’t talk about him for a long time, but then I thought like, that’s the person that gave me life.”

Rocky is currently on his international Don’t Be Dumb World Tour, which runs through late 2026 in support of his fourth studio album. He’s also set to star opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee‘s upcoming film, Highest 2 Lowest.