For many Silento [aka Richard Hawk] fans, today is a sad day, as his indictment made headlines across media outlets. According to Billboard, on August 3 of 2021, a grand jury passed down an indictment, finding him guilty on four charges including one for felony murder.
The Details
Silento, ‘Watch me Whip” star was arrested in February of this year. According to BBC News, Silento’s cousin Frederick Rooks was found dead on January 21. Sadly, Rooks had succumbed to gunshot wounds. And according to Henri Hollis, contributing writer, police found Rooks body lying in the road, fatally wounded. Yet, Silento was not identified immediately. It was not until after an investigation that Silento was not only recognized as Rook’s cousin but a possible suspect in the victim’s murder, the Guardian notes.
Where There is Smoke, There is Fire.
This instance has not been the first time Silento has been in hot water. In 2020, he was arrested on two separate occasions, once involving a hatchet. Not to mention he has made it known that he battles with mental illness. Hollis writes in his article that Hawk once stated,
‘“I’ve been fighting demons my whole life. My whole life,”
Unfortunately, sometimes those demons catch up with you.
Meteoric Rise Before the Fall
Silento rose to success in 2015 with his hit song “Whip/Nae-Nae.” It did not take long for the hit single to go viral, becoming a social media phenomenon. In fact, according to R. RepublicWorld.com, the single was so hot that it spent 51 weeks on the Hot 100 chart. And since then, Silento has remained a fixture in the industry. But the young hip-hop artist was not able to replicate that same level of success again. The inability to replicate his former success has weighed heavily on the young artist. As Hollis notes,
“With the success of “Watch Me,” he [Silento] found fame overnight, but he said that high didn’t last long. The pressure only intensified, he said in a videotaped interview.”
Silento has been in jail since his arrest in February. And although he was indicted a few weeks ago, there is no official publication of Silento’s sentence for the indictment.
Renae Richardson