It was in 2015 that the song Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) debuted and quickly made its way to the top of the charts. The single was an absolute hit, catapulting Silentó the rapper to fame.
However, the rapper has since fallen from grace and was recently convicted following the murder of his cousin and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges but also cited mental illness in his plea. The case, marked by his mental health struggles and a lack of clear motive, has left many questioning why he committed the murder.
The shooting and Silentó’s guilty plea
On June 11, 2025, Atlanta rapper Silentó, born Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks, after pleading guilty but mentally ill.
On January 21, 2021, DeKalb County police found 34-year-old Rooks dead on the street, shot in the face and leg with 10 bullet casings on the scene. The cops put together evidence from Ring camera footage from other homes in the area, linking the murder with Silentó and arresting him in February 2021 (via TMZ and CBS News). Security camera footage linked the rapper to the scene and following his arrest, he admitted to the murder.
In August of the same year, a grand jury in Georgia indicted the rapper for the murder of his cousin, handing a four-count indictment for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm while committing a felony(via NBC News).
And now, the Watch Me Whip rapper has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges which include voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a felony, and concealing the death of another, while a murder charge was dropped following his plea agreement (via CBS News). He will also get credit for the four years he has already spent in prison since his arrest (via Billboard).
While Rook’s siblings told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson that the rapper should have been awarded a longer sentence, via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the motive for the murder has not been revealed other than the fact that it might be because of Hawk’s mental health.
Rapper Silentó has been fighting demons his whole life
On June 11, 2025, Silentó took a plea deal, pleading guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, firearm possession during a felony, and concealing Rooks’ death, with the murder charges dropped.
While no clear motive for the murder has been revealed, it might be linked to the rapper’s severe mental health condition. A representative for the rapper revealed that he has been suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses and was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder in jail (via Billboard).
His attorney, Keith Adams, stated to Billboard, ‘For the first time since he’s been arrested, Ricky is in his right mind, and he’s in a place where he has a full understanding of everything that happened and what brought him here,’ while also revealing that Silentó has been dealing with mental illness since he was 12.
Even the rapper has been honest about his mental health conditions in the past, revealing in a 2019 appearance on the medical talk show The Doctors that he has been fighting demons his whole life. Growing up in a family where he was in close contact with those dealing with mental illness and witnessing violence, he struggled with depression that only got worse with fame (via CBS News).
He was also arrested before murdering his cousin, in August 2020 on a domestic violence charge, and in October 2020 for speeding at 143 miles per hour. His publicist also shared that the rapper had tried to kill himself in 2020. As Silentó serves his sentence, fans grapple with a star undone by demons, hoping for his healing.
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