'Whip/Nae Nae' child star pleads guilty but mentally ill, gets 30 years for cousin's death
The "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" rapper, 27-year-old Silentó, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2021 death of his cousin.
According to court records reviewed by USA TODAY, the musical artist, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, on June 11 pleaded guilty but mentally ill to four charges: voluntary manslaughter – a reduced charge from his initial malice murder count – aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony crime, and concealing the death of his cousin, 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III.
Voluntary manslaughter came with a 20-year prison sentence, while the firearm possession and concealment of death counts entail five years each. Hawk has been in jail since his February 2021 arrest.
On Jan. 21, 2012, DeKalb County Police officers responded to a call in Panthersville, Georgia, about 10 miles southeast of Atlanta. Per police, Rooks was found with multiple gunshot wounds and ten bullet casings near him.
Hawk was arrested Feb. 1, 2021, after one of Rooks' family members told officers he was last seen with Hawk on a drive back from a friend's house. They were in a white BMW SUV that matched one seen in security footage.
Hawk allegedly admitted to shooting Rooks in an interview with police.
The prior year, he was charged while living in Southern California for allegedly threatening two people with a hatchet. He'd been on bail after a recent arrest. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Hawk "walked into an unlocked stranger's home" and attempted to strike the two people in the home with a hatchet before one of them managed to disarm him."
The case is ongoing.
Who is Ricky Lamar Hawk, the rapper Silentó?
As a 17-year-old high schooler, Hawk integrated the "whip" and "nae nae" dances into the 2015 hit "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," which spent 51 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 after its release. It peaked at No. 3.
He went on to release a few albums, including a March 2021 record called "Bars Behind Bars" that came out while he was incarcerated.
Amid his viral success, Hawk told USA TODAY in 2015, "It was an awesome opportunity making this song and having it where I can go back to school, and people can just be like, 'Wow, you did it.'"
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