Rapper Silento Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Killing His Cousin

American rapper, Ricky Lamar Hawk, better known as Silento, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing his cousin.

Silento, who gained fame in 2015 with the viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”, admitted to fatally shooting his cousin Frederick Rooks in 2021.

He had originally been facing more serious charges, but reached a plea deal on June 11, just days before his trial was set to begin.

As part of the agreement, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possessing a gun during a crime, and hiding the body.

Lin his defence, the rapper claimed he was struggling with mental illness at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors agreed to reduce the original murder charge and drop another felony murder count.

The judge handed down a 30-year prison sentence, giving credit for the four years he has already spent in custody since his arrest.

Authorities say Silento shot Rooks multiple times in February 2021 and ran from the scene.

According to prosecutors, he later confessed during questioning, and bullet casings found nearby matched a gun found on him at the time of his arrest.

A representative for Silento said he was battling serious mental health problems when the incident happened.

Court documents also revealed he was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder while in jail.

His legal team has not publicly commented on the plea or sentencing.

Silento gained widespread fame with “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”, which inspired a viral dance trend and remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nearly a year, peaking at No. 3.

In 2019, Billboard included the song in its list of tracks that shaped the decade.

But in the years that followed, Silento faced a series of legal problems.

In 2017, he was detained in the UAE over a dispute with a concert promoter and was later ordered to pay over $80,000 for missing two performances.

Then in 2020, he was arrested twice within two days in California—once for domestic violence and once for walking into a stranger’s home with a hatchet.

Later that year, Silento was arrested in Georgia for driving 143 miles per hour on the highway.

KanyiDaily reported in 2021, Silento was arrested and charged for the murder of his 34-year-old old cousin, Frederick Rooks.