Rapper Silento de Whip / Nae Nae, 23, is charged with the murder of his 34-year-old cousin, found shot in the face on Atlanta street
- Silento, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, was arrested and charged with murder
- Police said he is under arrest for murder in connection with the death of Frederick Rooks on January 21.
- The Atlanta rapper known for his hit ‘Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)
Atlanta rapper Silento, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, was arrested on Monday and charged with murder in the shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin
Silento, the Atlanta rapper best known for his hit Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae), was arrested on Monday and charged with murder in the shooting death of his cousin.
DeKalb County police said in a statement on Twitter that the 23-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Hawk, was arrested in that Atlanta suburb.
He was arrested in county jail on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the January 21 death of Frederick Rooks, 34.
Hawk was held without bail on Tuesday.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution previously reported that police responded to a call for shots fired on January 21 at around 3:30 am in the Panthersville community in DeKalb County.
The 23-year-old rapper is best known for his 2015 hit, Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)
The agency quoted the police as saying that officers found Rooks dead with several gunshot wounds that night, including in the face and leg. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hawk manager did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
In October, the rapper was arrested for allegedly driving 143 mph on Interstate 85.
Hawk has been observed slowing down, changing lanes and swerving from slower vehicles in his 2020 BMW X3 sports SUV, according to a police report obtained by TMZ.
Initially, when Hawk stopped, he handed his driver’s license to the policeman while declaring, ‘We will do nothing wrong.’
When asked why he was accelerating, the rapper reportedly said he had just left a club after promoting a new song and was being followed.
The Georgia native declared that he had the right to drive at high speed.
“If there are about 10 cars following me, I can do 143 because I’m not a normal person and you could go and look at your computer and he would say that,” said Hawk, according to the official.
He was accused of reckless driving, speeding, failure to maintain lane and improper stopping, the media reported.
A month earlier, Hawk was accused of assault with a deadly weapon. The rapper was accused of entering a stranger’s house unlocked in the Valley Village area of Los Angeles and throwing an ax at the two people before one disarmed him.
TMZ reported that the rapper was looking for his girlfriend, but later found out that he had entered the wrong house.
Prior to this arrest, he was accused of inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant in a Santa Ana home on August 28.