Atlanta rapper Silentó, born Ricky Lamar Hawk and best known for his 2015 viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2021 killing of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III.
The 27-year-old artist pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony, and concealing the death of another, as confirmed by DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.
A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement, according to multiple reports.
The incident occurred in the early hours of January 21, 2021, when DeKalb County police responded to a shooting at a home near Deep Shoals Circle in the Panthersville area.
Officers found Rooks, 34, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his face and leg. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators recovered ten bullet casings, and security footage captured a white BMW SUV, later linked to Hawk, fleeing the area. Hawk was arrested on February 1, 2021, after confessing to the shooting.
Ballistic evidence matched a firearm in his possession to the casings found at the scene, and GPS data confirmed his presence at the location.
Silentó’s legal team emphasised his struggles with mental health, including a bipolar disorder diagnosis and a 2020 suicide attempt, as factors in the crime.
His publicist, Chanel Hudson, stated in 2021 that Hawk had been “suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses”, describing him as a “beautiful soul” in need of support.
In a 2019 interview on The Doctors, Hawk spoke candidly about battling depression and growing up amid family violence, saying, “Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous; it just adds more pressure.”
Despite these factors, Judge Courtney Johnson prioritised the crime’s severity, sentencing Hawk to 30 years.
Rooks’ siblings expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, telling the court it was too lenient, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Silentó rose to fame as a teenager with “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” which sparked a global dance craze and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
His career, however, was marred by legal troubles, including a 2020 arrest for driving 143 mph and an earlier incident involving a hatchet.
