‘Whip Nae Nae’ Rapper Silento Arrested And Charged With Murdering His Cousin

Rapper Silento - best known for the hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' - has been charged with murdering his cousin.

The 23-year-old, whose real name is Ricky Hawk, was arrested by DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia yesterday (Monday 1 February) after his cousin Frederick Rooks was found dead on 21 January.

The force said: "Today, Ricky Hawk, 23, was arrested for the murder of his cousin Frederick Rooks, 34.

"On January 21, the DeKalb County Police Department investigated Rooks' death after he was found shot on Deep Shoals Circle. Hawk is in the DeKalb County jail charged with murder."

According to music news website XXL, police responded to a call at around 3.30am on 21 January and found Rooks at an intersection with gunshot wounds to his face and leg, surrounded by at least eight shell casings.

LADbible has contacted Silento's representatives for comment.

Hawk was previously arrested in August following a domestic disturbance, and he was subsequently arrested the following day after walking into a random house with a hatchet while reportedly searching for his girlfriend.

He was detained by Los Angeles police officers about a block away from the residence and later charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Hawk was arrested once again on 23 October after being caught driving at 143mph.

According to WSB-TV Atlanta, a police report said: "The driver stated that he was coming from Gwinnett and that people were following him and that he left from the club.

"He stated, 'If there is like 10 cars following me, I can do 143 because I am not a regular person and you could go and look on your computer and it would tell you that.'"

He was subsequently released on bail.

The rapper launched to fame in 2015 with debut hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)', which has been viewed more than 1.7 billion times on YouTube.

His latest track 'Swish' was released on Thursday 28 January.

Topics: Celebrity, Music, US News, crime

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey