{"id":4185316,"date":"2025-06-15T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/?p=4185316"},"modified":"2025-06-15T10:22:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:22:37","slug":"who-is-silento-rapper-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/feature\/who-is-silento-rapper-2-4185316\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Silento? 5 Things to Know About the Rapper Going to Prison for Killing Cousin"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ‘Watch Me (Whip\/Nae Nae)’ rapper made headlines in 2021 for being charged with his cousin\u2019s murder\u2014now, he\u2019s been sentenced to prison. Find out more about him here.<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Silento<\/strong><\/a>, the rapper who rose to fame at just 17 with the viral hit \u201cWatch Me (Whip\/Nae Nae),\u201d has officially been sentenced to prison for the murder of his cousin, Frederick Rooks<\/strong>. The 27-year-old artist, whose real name is Richard Lamar \u201cRicky\u201d Hawk, was arrested by Georgia\u2019s DeKalb County Police Department on Feb. 1, 2021, just 11 days after Rooks was found fatally shot in a residential neighborhood. At the time, investigators confirmed Rooks had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. After a thorough investigation, Silento was identified as the primary suspect.<\/p>\n

From his overnight rise to viral fame to his legal troubles before and after the arrest, here are five things to know about Silento.<\/p>\n

\"Silento\"
Silento at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 2016. He was nominated for “Favorite New Artist” that year. (AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Silento rose to fame at just 16 years old with his debut single, “Watch Me (Whip\/Nae Nae).”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rapper<\/a>, then just a high school student, released his biggest song on SoundCloud in 2015 (he worked on the song with beatsmith Bolo Da Producer<\/strong>). “Within the first day it went to 1,000 listens. The next day it was at 4,000,\u201d Silento wrote on his website<\/a>, and so he decided to drop the music video for the song on his 17th birthday in Jan. 2015. The video now has more than 1.7 billion views, and the song itself peaked at the No. 3 position on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart.<\/p>\n