20 MINUTES AGO, Silentó, the rapper best known for his hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” was sentenced to 30 years in prison for … see more

Silentó, the rapper best known for his viral 2015 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.

The musician, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges relating to shooting Frederick Rooks in Jan. 2021. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the 27-year-old took a deal to plead guilty to a reduced charge from malice murder to voluntary manslaughter. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and concealing the death of another. A separate felony murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Silentó will serve 30 years in prison with credit for time served since Feb. 2021.

The Atlanta rapper was initially arrested after the DeKalb County Police Department found Rooks, 34, with gunshot wounds to his face and leg in January 2021. Rooks was pronounced dead at the scene. Silentó confessed to the murder shortly after, and authorities matched bullet casings to a gun that he had at the time of his arrest.

Following Silentó’s arrest, his publicist at the time, Chanel Hudson, shared on social media that the rapper had been struggling with mental health issues. “Over the past several years, Ricky has been suffering immensely from a series of mental illnesses,” she wrote. “We will continue in his efforts of treatment, but we ask in the meantime the public uplift him and his family in immediate prayer & positive energy!!”

Silentó scored a massive hit with his debut single “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” which he released as a junior in high school in 2015. The song was a runaway success, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning more than 400 million Spotify streams in the time since.He shared his struggles with mental health in the years that followed, and Hudson claimed that he had attempted suicide in 2020. He had several encounters with law enforcement, including an arrest in Aug. 2020 for domestic violence. That October, he was arrested for driving 143 miles per hour in DeKalb County.

Related Posts

GOP rep pushes to carve Trump into Mt. Rushmore despite ‘preservation questions’

A GOP lawmaker wants President Donald Trump’s bust “promptly” added to Mount Rushmore after Trump’s mega domestic policy and budget bill passed. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) penned a letter Thursday…

Read more

Harrison Ford suffered huge losses and was forced to evacuate his Brentwood home as the California fires …. see more

Harrison Ford appeared distressed after being forced to evacuate amid the wildfires ravaging all over Los Angeles. On Wednesday, the 82-year-old actor was spotted parked outside of his Brentwood neighborhood. At one…

Read more

‘Not normal’: Marjorie Taylor Greene pushes conspiracy theory bill after tragedy

U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in the wake of a devastating fatal flooding tragedy in Texas introduced a bill that is being seen as big win for conspiracy theorists….

Read more

‘Alarm’: Man who did Trump’s ‘dirty work’ flags plan to give GOP power ‘forever’

Donald Trump already has a plan in place to “rig” the next election, according to a former associate who says he did the president’s “dirty work.” Lev Parnas, who worked…

Read more

GOP senator has ‘conflicting feelings’ on TX floods because not all campers died

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he had “conflicting feelings” because some people lived after experiencing deadly floods in Texas over the weekend. In a Sunday interview on Fox News, Cornyn…

Read more

‘Not the day’: GOP senator warns Dems complaining about cuts to weather agencies

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) lashed out at Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) after he noted that cuts to agencies like the National Weather Service could leave communities unprepared for catastrophic events….

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *