Atlanta rapper Silentó, best known for his 2015 viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to decades in prison after pleading guilty to killing his cousin in 2021.
The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Ricky Hawk, entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to charges including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, and other related offenses in connection with the fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of January 21, 2021, when officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call of a person shot near Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing. Upon arrival, they found 34-year-old Rooks with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to investigators, neighbors reported hearing gunshots, and surveillance footage from a nearby residence captured a white BMW SUV speeding away from the scene shortly after the gunfire.
Family members later informed police that Rooks had last been seen in the company of Hawk, who had picked him up from a friend’s house in a white SUV. Hawk was not initially named as a suspect, but subsequent investigations identified him as the shooter.
Prosecutors revealed that after his arrest, Silentó admitted to shooting Rooks. Ballistic evidence, including bullet casings found at the scene, reportedly matched a firearm found on Hawk at the time of his arrest.
