Former teen rapper Silentó will spend the next 30 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III.
Born Richard Lamar “Ricky” Hawk, the 27-year-old rapper was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin.
Security footage from a nearby residence showed a white BMW SUV speeding away from the crime scene. Silentó confessed about 10 days later.
He pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Wednesday, according to Eurweb.com.
Silentó also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. He received credit for time served since February 2021.
Silentó was a 17-year-old high school junior when his 2015 hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” zoomed up the charts. The music video was viewed nearly 2 billion times on YouTube.
Despite his success in the music industry, Silentó struggled with depression and grew up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence.
“I’ve been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,” he said in 2019. “Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,” he continued. “And while everybody’s looking at you, they’re also judging you. I don’t know if I can truly be happy, I don’t know if these demons will ever go away.”
His publicist, Chanel Hudson, said the rapper attempted to kill himself in 2020.
Rooks’ siblings said Silentó should have received a longer sentence in prison.
