Billboard rapper Silentó sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his cousin; know who he is
Atlanta rapper Silentó, who rose to fame with his viral 2015 hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)', has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III.
The tragic incident unfolded on January 21, 2021, when Rooks was found shot multiple times outside a house near Decatur, Georgia. Investigators recovered 10 shell casings at the scene, and security camera footage later showed Silentó speeding away in a white BMW SUV. He was arrested weeks later in DeKalb County and charged with murder.
Silentó, most known for his song/dance 'Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)', has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his cousin. pic.twitter.com/yRwYjqP9i9
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 11, 2025
According to Silentó's publicist, Chanel Hudson, he had been battling serious mental health struggles leading up to the crime. She previously revealed that the rapper had attempted to take his own life in 2020, describing the period before his arrest as a downward spiral.
This week, Silentó entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to charges including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, firearm possession during the commission of a crime, and concealing a death.
A US court handed him a 30-year prison sentence for the killing, bringing a devastating chapter to a once-promising career to an end.
Silentó, whose real name is Richard Lamar 'Ricky' Hawk, shot to fame in 2015 thanks to his viral hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)'. The track did not just dominate the Billboard charts–it set off a full-blown dance phenomenon around the world. The song's catchy hook and easy-to-learn moves turned it into a social media staple, with millions recreating the dance on platforms like YouTube and Vine. It even climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After that meteoric rise, Silentó tried to build on his success. He teamed up with Punch in 2016 for a collaboration that won the World Collaboration Award at the Seoul Music Awards. That same year, he hit the road with Let's Dance: The Tour, riding the wave of his breakout moment.
But his career soon unravelled amid mounting legal troubles. In 2017, a dispute over a contract left him stuck in the UAE, unable to leave the country for a time. Things only got worse by 2020, with a string of arrests ranging from domestic violence to assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving—marking a steep fall for the artist who once got the world to 'watch me whip, watch me nae nae'.
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