Atlanta rapper Silentó gets 30 years after pleading guilty to killing his cousin
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Silentó, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),' pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin.
The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement.
Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said the found 10 bullet casings near Rooks' body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots.
A family member of Rooks told police that Silentó had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting.
Silentó confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said.
Rooks' brothers and sisters told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson before sentencing that Silentó should have gotten a longer sentence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The rapper was a high school junior in suburban Atlanta in 2015 when he released 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" and watched it skyrocket into a dance craze. Silentó made multiple other albums, but said in an interview with the medical talk show 'The Doctors' in 2019 that he struggled with depression and had grown up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence.
'I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,' he said in 2019.
'Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,' Silentó said then, urging others to get help. 'And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you."
'I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away.'
Silentó had been struggling in the months before the arrest. His publicist, Chanel Hudson, has said he had tried to kill himself in 2020.
In August 2020, Silentó was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a home where he didn't know anyone looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed.
In October 2020, Silentó was arrested after police said they clocked him driving 143 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour) on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County.
Hudson said at the time of Silentó's arrest in the killing of Rooks that he had been 'suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.'
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Newsweek
an hour ago
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Silentó, the rapper behind the 2015 hit song "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter and other charges relating to the shooting death of his cousin. Why It Matters Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk, who utilizes the stage name Silentó, was accused of fatally shooting his cousin, 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III, in 2021 in Decatur, Georgia. The 27-year-old was initially charged with malice murder, but it was downgraded to voluntary manslaughter as part of the plea agreement. A felony murder charge was dropped. Hawk also pleaded guilty but mentally ill to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and concealing the death of another, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office announced in a news release. Rapper Silento poses for a portrait in New York, July 21, 2015. Rapper Silento poses for a portrait in New York, July 21, 2015. Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP, File What To Know The DeKalb County Police Department responded to a report of a person shot at around 3:37 a.m. on January 21, 2021. Officers found Rooks suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. EMS arrived at the scene and confirmed that he was deceased. A family member of the victim told officials that Rooks was last seen with Hawk, who had picked Rooks up from a friend's house in a white BMW SUV. Security camera footage from a home near the crime scene showed a white BMW SUV fleeing the area at a high rate of speed minutes after shots were fired. Hawk was taken into custody on February 1, 2021. He admitted to shooting Rooks in an interview with investigators. Ballistics testing revealed that the bullets found at the scene matched the gun found on Hawk at the time of his arrest. GPS data obtained by officials also showed Hawk's BMW at the scene around the time of the shooting. Chanel Hudson-O'Connor, Hawk's publicist, said he wanted to thank those who shared their support during this "incredibly difficult" time. "Ricky wants his family, fans, and supporters to know that he is deeply sorry for the pain and disappointment he has caused," Hudson-O'Connor said in a statement posted on Instagram. Hawk released "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" on SoundCloud in 2015, drawing inspiration from hip-hop dance trends such as the Whip, the Nae Nae, and the Stanky Leg. The song went viral on YouTube and Vine, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Hawk was arrested in 2020 in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge, then released. The Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon the next day after the rapper allegedly entered the wrong home while looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people. Later that year, he was arrested in DeKalb County after officials said they detected him driving 143 miles per hour on Interstate 85. He was later released. What People Are Saying Chanel Hudson-O'Connor, in a statement posted on Instagram: "We kindly ask the public to continue praying for all parties involved—especially Ricky—as he continues to battle severe mental health challenges." Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk, in a statement shared by Hudson-O'Connor: "I can't reverse time, but I can serve the time I've been given lawfully, and strive to positively contribute to whatever my new environment may be." What Happens Next DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson, who presided over the plea hearing, sentenced Hawk to 30 years in prison. Hawk has been held at the DeKalb County Jail since his arrest, and he will receive credit for time served. The Georgia Department of Corrections is responsible for evaluating and treating Hawk's mental health as he serves his sentence, according to state law. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@
