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Written by: A. Smith
Published June 12, 2025 @ 10:24 PM ET
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – Atlanta rapper Silentó, known for the viral 2015 hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2021 shooting death of his cousin.
Silentó, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to charges including voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. The sentence was handed down by a DeKalb County Superior Court judge.
Police were called to a home on Deep Shoals Circle in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021, where they found 34-year-old Frederick Rooks III dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage from the neighborhood showed a white BMW SUV leaving the scene shortly after gunfire was heard.
According to investigators, Rooks had last been seen with Hawk, who had picked him up in a similar vehicle. Prosecutors said Hawk later admitted to the shooting and that ballistic evidence from the crime scene matched a firearm in his possession at the time of his arrest.
The case marked a turn in the career of the rapper, who rose to fame as a teenager after his debut single became a cultural phenomenon and climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Hawk released his first full-length album, Fresh Outta High School, in 2019 and had been featured on several collaborative tracks.
Prior to the fatal shooting, Hawk had several run-ins with the law. In 2020, he was arrested in DeKalb County for allegedly driving 143 miles per hour on Interstate 85. That same year, he faced charges in Los Angeles for allegedly attacking two people with a hatchet inside a home.
Hawk had remained in custody at the DeKalb County Jail since his arrest in February 2021.
Authorities say the case is now closed following the sentencing.