Silentó gets 30-year sentence

Silentó gets 30-year sentence

Silentó (real name Ricky Lamar Hawk) released "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" in 2015

Won a 2015 Soul Train Music Award for Best Dance Performance and a 2017 Seoul Music Award

His net worth fell to $500,000 by 2025 due to legal issues and failed follow-up releases after his viral success

Publicly battled lifelong depression, attempted suicide in 2020, and revealed being born with drugs in his system on "The Doctors" (2019)

Arrested for hatchet assault (Aug 2020) and reckless driving (143 mph, Oct 2020) before the murder case

Admitted to shooting cousin Frederick Rooks III (34) on Jan 21, 2021, leaving 10 bullet casings at the scene

Pleaded "guilty but mentally ill" to voluntary manslaughter; murder charge dropped in exchange for 30-year sentence

Received 30 years for manslaughter + aggravated assault, with Rooks' family calling it too lenient