'Whip/Nae Nae' Star Gets 30 Years for Killing Cousin

Silento at an event in 2018. Photo courtesy of News Of The World under CC BY 3.0.

He made the world dance with “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” in 2015 - but in 2025, rapper Silento watched a courtroom deliver his fate. On June 11, Ricky Lamar Hawk, the Atlanta-based performer behind the viral hit, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing of his cousin, Frederick Rooks III, in 2021.

Hawk, 27, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a crime, and concealing the death of another, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.

A Deadly Night in Georgia

On Jan. 21, 2021, DeKalb County police responded to reports of gunfire in the Panthersville area just outside Decatur. They discovered Rooks, 34, lying at an intersection with multiple gunshot wounds. Ten shell casings were found near his body.

Security footage later showed a white BMW SUV - linked to Hawk - fleeing the scene moments after the shots were fired. Family members confirmed that Hawk had picked up Rooks earlier that day from a friend’s house in the same vehicle.

A Confession and a Complicated Past

Just over a week after the shooting, Hawk admitted to the killing while in custody. His defense attorney, Keith Adams, emphasized the rapper’s long history of mental illness, noting it had affected him since age 12.

“This was not a crime of passion or a crime of a morally depraved person. He was mentally ill,” Adams told ABC News.

The guilty but mentally ill plea was strategic - it allows Hawk to serve time in a mental health-equipped facility and potentially become eligible for parole within a decade. A murder conviction would have required a minimum of 30 years before parole eligibility.

A Tumultuous History

Before Rooks’s death, Hawk’s life had already begun unraveling. In August 2020, he was charged with assault after allegedly swinging a hatchet at strangers in a Los Angeles home while looking for his girlfriend - people he didn’t know.

Years earlier, he spoke publicly about his mental health challenges. In a 2019 interview on “The Doctors,” he revealed his struggle with depression and inner turmoil. “Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,” he said, according to PEOPLE. “I’ve been fighting demons my whole life.”

Sentence and Next Steps

Hawk will begin his sentence at the Georgia Diagnostic Center in Jackson, where he’ll undergo mental health evaluations and be assigned to a permanent facility. “His plea of guilty but mentally ill acknowledges his mental illness, and it instructs the Department of Corrections to place him not in a regular prison, but in a facility that will treat his mental illness,” Adams explained, according to ABC News.

Adams expressed hope that with treatment, Hawk could rebuild. “No one is beyond redemption,” he said. “I think he has an opportunity to come out and resume his position as a productive member of society.”

The End of a Viral Era

Hawk’s 2015 hit, “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” was more than a dance track - it was a pop culture moment. At just 17, Silento captured the internet’s attention with a catchy beat and simple moves. The song topped the charts and earned multi-platinum status.

But fame, as Hawk learned, does not shield anyone from personal demons. His story is an advisory tale of what can happen when success and untreated mental illness collide. A man once celebrated for bringing joy to millions now faces decades behind bars - and a long road to healing, if not redemption.

References: ‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)’ Artist Silentó Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Killing His Cousin | ‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)’ rapper Silentó sentenced to 30 years in cousin’s murder, lawyer speaks out