Silentó, the rapper behind the viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2021 murder of his cousin.
WSB-TV Atlanta reports that the 27-year-old artist, born Lamar “Ricky” Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to multiple charges, including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of Frederick Rooks III.
On January 21, 2021, DeKalb County Police discovered Frederick Rooks III with multiple gunshot wounds at around 3:37 a.m. Witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing gunfire, and surveillance footage captured a white BMW speeding away from the scene shortly after.
According to family members, Rooks was last seen with Silentó—real name Lamar “Ricky” Hawk—who had picked him up from a friend’s house in that same vehicle.
Following Hawk’s arrest in February 2021, his publicist Chanel Hudson asked the public to send “positive vibrations,” stating that the rapper had been “suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.”
