Silentó — whose hit “Watch Me” introduced much of the world to the whip and the nae nae — has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after killing his cousin. According to the Associated Press, the rapper born Ricky Hawk, Silentó pleaded guilty but mentally ill for the 2021 killing of Frederick Rooks III. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, with the murder charged being dropped as part of the plea deal.
Rooks was found by DeKalb County police in January 2021, shot in the leg and face. Police found 10 bullet casings on the scene, and security video showed a white BMW SUV leaving after the shooting. GPS data helped put Silentó’s BMW at the crime scene. He confessed 10 days later, according to police.
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Silentó rose to international fame in 2015, when he was just a high school junior. The video for “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” went viral and taught everyone the whip, nae nae, the stanky leg, the bop, the duff, and more. In interviews, he spoke about battling mental illness and depression. “Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,” he said. The death of his cousin was not his first arrest for a violent offense. In 2020, he was charged with domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon, after an incident where he entered a home swinging a hatchet and looking for his girlfriend.
