ATLANTA — Silentó, the rapper best known for the 2015 viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the fatal shooting of his cousin.
Silentó, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter in the 2021 killing of Frederick Rooks, his 34-year-old cousin. The plea agreement reduced the original malice murder charge and resulted in the dismissal of a separate felony murder count.
Hawk, 27, also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and concealing the death of another. He will receive credit for time served since his arrest in February 2021.
According to authorities, Rooks was found dead in January 2021 in DeKalb County, Georgia, with gunshot wounds to the face and leg. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators later matched shell casings from the crime scene to a gun in Hawk’s possession at the time of his arrest. Silentó reportedly confessed to the crime shortly after being taken into custody.
Following the incident, Hawk’s then-publicist Chanel Hudson said the rapper had long struggled with mental health issues. “Over the past several years, Ricky has been suffering immensely from a series of mental illnesses,” she wrote in a social media post. “We will continue in his efforts of treatment, but we ask the public to uplift him and his family in immediate prayer and positive energy.”
Silentó rose to fame as a high school junior in 2015 when “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” became a viral sensation. The single reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since earned more than 400 million streams on Spotify.
In the years following his success, Hawk faced multiple legal and mental health challenges. In 2020, he was arrested for domestic violence and later caught driving 143 miles per hour in DeKalb County. Hudson later revealed that Hawk had attempted suicide that same year.
Silentó remains in custody as he begins his 30-year sentence.
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