Rapper Silentó has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his cousin, four years ago.
In 2021, the musician best known for his viral song Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) was arrested on charges relating to the death of Frederick Rooks.
Rooks, 34, was found with multiple gunshot wounds on January 21 and died from his injuries.
Silentó, real name Ricky Lamar Hawk, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the charges and took a plea deal to reduce the charges, as reported by Variety.
He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and concealing the death of another.
Another felony murder charge was dropped as part of this plea agreement.
Hawk, 27, will serve 30 years in prison but will get credit for time served, having been behind bars since February 2021.
At the time of his arrest, his publicist, Chanel Hudson, posted on social media about his mental health issues.
She wrote: ‘Over the past several years, Ricky has been suffering immensely from a series of mental illnesses. We will continue in his efforts of treatment, but we ask in the meantime the public uplift him and his family in immediate prayer & positive energy!!’
He had previously been arrested in 2020 after allegedly wielding a hatchet while searching for his girlfriend.
According to police reports of the incident, he had walked into a random house demanding to see his girlfriend until a friend arrived and informed him it was the wrong home.
Another alleged incident in late 2020 saw the rapper pulled over on his way from a nightclub when he was spotted driving at 143mph in a 65mph zone.
He was reportedly swerving in and out of cars and said he was ‘not a regular person’ and claimed people were following him.
Hawk rose to fame in 2015 with debut single Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae), which was released while he was still in high school.
The song and its accompanying dance became one of the biggest trends of the year, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Despite some critics blasting the track as irritating, Watch Me earned him a nomination for Song of the Summer at the MTV Video Music Awards.
The track was also nominated for R&B/Hip-Hop Song at the Teen Choice Awards the same year, although it did not win either award.
Hawk has not seen the heights of fame since, with Hudson claiming he had struggled to cope and attempted suicide in the years after his hit.
He confessed to the killing shortly after Rooks’ body was found and authorities matched bullet casings to the gun he had in his possession during the arrest.
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