Rapper Silentó’s smash-hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' was one of 2015’s biggest bangers.
Upon its release, Silentó was just 17 years old and seemed set to become one of the decade’s biggest stars, with the track spending six non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
But just five years after 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)'’s release, Silentó’s life took a dark turn when he was taken into custody following a domestic disturbance, the first of many arrests to come.
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Silentó - real name Richard Lamar Ricky Hawk - was first arrested on 28 August 2020 and charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.
The very next day, Hawk was arrested again when looking for his girlfriend, after he allegedly ended up walking into a stranger’s home holding a hatchet while in search of her.
Just two months later, Hawk found himself in handcuffs once again. He’d been arrested for speeding - allegedly driving at speeds of 143 miles per hour on a Georgia highway.
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Fast forward a few months to 21 January 2021 and Hawk ended up being booked into an Illinois jail on one count of murder after police responded to a shots fired call in the early hours.
Hawk was formally charged with malice murder and felony murder on 1 February in relation to the death of his cousin, Frederick Rooks.
On 3 August 2021, Hawk was indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.
Police reports state that on 21 January, they responded to complaints of gunshots heard in a residents area where they found Rooks bleeding profusely in the street.
He’d been shot in the face and leg and was pronounced dead at the scene.
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DeKalb County Police Department confirmed in a statement released at the time: “Today, Ricky Hawk, 23, was arrested for the murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks, 34.
“On January 21, the DeKalb County Police Department investigated Rooks' death after he was found shot on Deep Shoals Circle. Hawk is in the DeKalb County Jail charged with Murder.”
After his arrest, Hawk’s publicist said the rapper had been suffering from ‘a series of mental health illnesses’ in recent years and added: “We will continue in his efforts of treatment but we ask in the meantime the public uplift him and his family in immediate prayer and positive energy.”
Aisha Nozari