In a tragic twist of fate, Silentó, the teenage sensation who just a few short years ago had the music world whipping and nae-nae to “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” on the Billboard charts, was sentenced to 30 years in a Georgia state prison on Tuesday, June 10 2025 although he faced 142 years. The 26-year-old rapper (born Ricky Lamar Hawk) pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting in 2021 of his cousin, Frederick Rooks.
Silentó danced into living rooms worldwide overnight with a hit song that seemed to go viral in a snap when he was just 17. It was an infectious wave of euphoric energy riding the promise of what’s possible. But something was unraveling behind the scenes of his life. The same young artist who had blown up on YouTube and scaled the Billboard Hot 100 was silently struggling with his mental illness, a struggle that would eventually lead to his demise.
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Prosecutors said Hawk opened fire in January 2021 on his 34-year-old cousin outside a Decatur house. Rooks was discovered at the scene dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Under the plea deal, Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The court entered the plea on the condition that Hawk receives mental health treatment while in custody, a stark reminder that mental illness lay at the root of this crime. His lawyers described the artist as a troubled figure in decline, citing an extensive history of psychiatric hospitalizations and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. In the years leading up to the shooting, Hawk had been arrested several times for domestic violence and weapons charges. In one frightening incident in early 2020, he reportedly walked into a stranger’s home carrying a hatchet and saying he was searching for his girlfriend.
Investigations later revealed that Hawk had come to believe that Rooks was conspiring against him, a paranoia that was said to have been caused by his untreated mental health problems.
Hawk, who became a worldwide sensation for a viral dance representing innocence and glee, now faces three decades locked away. The fall from stardom Hawk experienced is a chilling cautionary tale not just about fame but also about what happens when severe mental health issues are not taken seriously.
The verdict brings to a close a deeply tragic chapter for the two families. One man is gone forever, and another will live much of his life in a prison cell, his future as an artist buried beneath the shadow of one violent moment. And somewhere in the middle of that is the remembrance of the kid who made the world dance, now forever intertwined with sadness.
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