{"id":174552,"date":"2025-06-13T12:36:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/rapper-silento-with-viral-hit-watch-me-whip-nae-nae-sentenced-to-30-years-in-cousins-murder\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T12:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:36:22","slug":"rapper-silento-with-viral-hit-watch-me-whip-nae-nae-sentenced-to-30-years-in-cousins-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/rapper-silento-with-viral-hit-watch-me-whip-nae-nae-sentenced-to-30-years-in-cousins-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapper Silent\u00f3, with viral hit ‘Watch Me (Whip\/Nae Nae)’, sentenced to 30 years in cousin’s murder"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Silent\u00f3<\/a>, who shot to fame with the mega-viral hit \u201cWatch Me (Whip\/Nae Nae),\u201d has been handed a 30-year prison sentence after entering a guilty plea in connection with the 2021 fatal shooting of his cousin.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old performer, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk<\/strong>, submitted his plea on Wednesday, accepting charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another, according to DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not a crime of passion or a crime of a morally depraved person. He was mentally ill,\u201d Hawk\u2019s attorney, Keith Adams<\/strong>, told ABC News<\/a>. \u201cUnfortunately, Ricky\u2019s mental illness has been an issue since the age of 12, even during his success as an artist and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The charges stem from a tragic incident on January 21, 2021, when Frederick Rooks III, 34, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of Deep Shoals Circle and Corners Crossing in Panthersville, an unincorporated area of Decatur, Georgia.<\/p>\n