Rapper Silento Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Cousin M£rder

Silento, the rapper best known for his 2015 hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the m*rder of his cousin.

The 27-year-old, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary m*nslaughter and several other charges, including aggr*v*ted assault, poss*ssion of a f!rearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another.

The incident occurred in the early hours of January 21, 2021, when police in DeKalb County, Georgia, discovered 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers recovered 10 b*llet casings near his body, and Rooks was pronounced dead at the scene.

Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV fleeing the area shortly after the sh*ts were fired. Investigators confirmed it was the same vehicle Hawk used to pick up Rooks earlier that night.

Silento was arrested on February 1, 2021, and during questioning, he confessed to the shooting. Ballistic testing later confirmed that the shell casings found at the scene matched a f!rearm in his poss!ssion at the time of arrest.