• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Artist behind one of the biggest viral hits of all time sentenced to prison for killing his cousin

Home> News> US News

Updated 11:15 12 Jun 2025 GMT+1Published 10:34 12 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Artist behind one of the biggest viral hits of all time sentenced to prison for killing his cousin

The aritst shot to fame while he was still in high school

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

An Atlanta rapper known for a song that went viral back in 2015 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing his cousin.

Viral songs come and go and sometimes, they are the start of a wonderful career. But sometimes, they aren’t.

For one Atlanta rapper, within a few years after shooting to international fame, they would find themselves on the wrong side of the law multiple times.

Rapper Silentó was only 17 when his hit had people around the world dancing to his catchy and memorable song that ended up having an impressive six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Advert

If you remember 2015 well, you know we’ are talking about the rapper’s breakout song ‘Watch me (Whip / Nae Nae)'.

Rapper Silentó was charged with murder and has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images)
Rapper Silentó was charged with murder and has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images)

While you might hope the following years would see the musician - real name Richard Lamar Ricky Hawk - go on to solidify himself in the music industry, his issues with the law began in 2020.

On August 28 of that year, he was first arrested and charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.

Advert

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.

Fast forward to 21 January, 2021 and he was booked into an Illinois jail on one count of murder after police responded to a 'shots fired' call in the early hours.

On June 11, the now 27-year-old was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks.

He pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another.

Advert

As part of his plea deal, another murder charge was dropped.

Police stated how they responded to complaints of gunshots heard in a residents area, where they found Rooks bleeding in the street, having been shot in the face and leg.

Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

DeKalb County Police Department confirmed in a statement at the time: “Today, Ricky Hawk, 23, was arrested for the murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks, 34.

Advert

Ricky Hawk was known for his viral 2015 song (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
Ricky Hawk was known for his viral 2015 song (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

“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 the years leading up to the murder, adding: “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.”

Police said they found 10 bullet casings near Rooks’s body, and nearby security footage showed a BMW SUV speeding away from the scene.

Advert

A family member of Rooks went on to reveal to police that Hawk had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data placed that very vehicle at the scene of the crime during the time of the shooting.

Hawk was arrested and confessed to the killing ten days later.

Featured Image Credit: SilentoVEVO/YouTube

Topics: Music, News, US News, Crime, Gun Crime

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • TikToker sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife and friend posts 'devastating' final message
  • Classmates of Luigi Mangione reveal what he was like at school before suspected killing
  • FBI releases CCTV footage of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell on day of death to prove suicide ruling
  • Luigi Mangione speaks out for the first time from prison after killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Choose your content:

14 mins ago
an hour ago
  • 14 mins ago

    Surprising reason man has been fined $100 repeatedly for giving out free water during heatwave

    David Martin is at war with his Homeowners Association over cold water

    News
  • an hour ago

    Boy, 7, with autism died weeks before he was reported missing as police give disturbing update

    Hershall Creachbaum was in the custody of his mom when he disappeared, with his body found the same day a kidnapping report was filed

    News
  • an hour ago

    Suki Waterhouse hospitalized after 'wearing tight pants that caused a hernia'

    Suki posted a snap from her hospital bed, with fans pointing out one 'diabolical' detail in the pic

    Celebrity
  • an hour ago

    Woman who murdered and lived with her dead parents for 4 years reveals why she did it in harrowing letter

    Virginia McCullough was sentenced to 36 years behind bars for the brutal murder of her parents

    Film & TV