AMERICAN rapper Silento, best known for his 2015 hit song “Watch Me Whip”, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to fatally shooting his cousin in Georgia.
Ricky Lamar Hawk, the rapper’s legal name, admitted to voluntary manslaughter in the 2021 killing of 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III.
He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, firearm possession during the commission of a crime, and concealing a death, according to DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.
A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Frederick Rooks III was discovered with gunshot wounds to the leg and face in the early hours of January 21, 2021, outside a residence near Decatur, Georgia.
DeKalb County police recovered 10 shell casings near his body, and surveillance footage from a nearby home captured a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the shots were fired.
Silentó picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV later seen at the crime scene. He confessed 10 days after the killing, and ballistics linked his gun to the shooting.
Rooks’ family told the court he deserved a longer sentence.
The rapper rose to fame in 2015 with “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” but struggled with mental illness, legal troubles, and multiple arrests before the shooting.
His publicist claimed that he was battling severe mental health issues.
