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When Richard Lamar (better known as Silento) burst onto the scene in 2015 with his viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” he seemed destined for superstardom.
Yet within a decade, the hip-hop sensation has found himself embroiled in a series of legal battles, confessed to a deadly shooting, and ultimately been sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
2021 shooting and arrest
Silento
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Silento (born Ricky Hawk) was arrested in 2021 after officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a shooting in Atlanta.
At the scene, police found the body of 34 year old Frederick Rooks III, Silento's cousin, with multiple bullet wounds.
Surveillance footage from a nearby home camera caught a white BMW SUV fleeing the scene shortly after neighbors reported hearing shots. First responders would declare Rooks dead at the scene.
Less than two weeks later, Silento would be taken into custody after being identified as the last person seen with the victim.
Police also linked bullet casings found at the scene to a gun found on the rapper at the time of his arrest.
He would confess to the shooting in custody and later plead guilty in court. His defence mounted a plea of mental illness.
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Past struggles with the law
This is not his first run-in with the law.
Back in October 2020, he was arrested on an overspeeding charge, after officers clocked driving 230 kilometres per hour on an interstate.
He was arrested again in August of the same year after he was accused of attacking two people with a hatchet in their home in Los Angeles.
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Mental health battles
Silento poses
In a statement by his publicist at the time of his arrest, his team stated that the rapper has “suffered immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.”
Before his arrest, Silento stated in a 2019 interview,
I’ve been fighting demons my whole life. I don’t know if I can truly be happy, I don’t know if these demons will ever go away.
Silento had been in custody at the DeKalb County Jail since his arrest. Following his plea of guilty but mentally ill, the DeKalb County Superior Court sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
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Now watch me whip, now watch me nae nae
Silento in Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)
Silento attained global fame after releasing Watch me (“Whip/Nae Nae) in 2015.
The song would chart globally and even hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It would also spark a global social media dance craze of people posting videos online dancing to the song.
As he begins his long sentence, fans and critics alike are left to ponder what might have been, and what lessons the music industry can learn to protect its young stars better.