Silentó Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Killing His Cousin

Silentó, the rapper best known for his viral 2015 hit Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae), has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III, in 2021.

The sentencing was handed down in DeKalb County, Georgia, following a plea agreement that saw Silentó, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, also plead guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another.

Authorities discovered Rooks’ body on January 21, 2021, with multiple gunshot wounds at an intersection in Panthersville, Georgia. Investigators recovered 10 bullet casings near the scene, and security footage showed a white BMW SUV fleeing moments after the shooting. Silentó later confessed to the crime.

Silentó rose to fame as a teenager with Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae), a song that became a cultural phenomenon, amassing over 1.9 billion views on YouTube and reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, his career was overshadowed by legal troubles and struggles with **mental health, which he had spoken about publicly in past interviews.