Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk[3] (born January 22, 1998), better known as Silentó (/ˈsaɪləntoʊ/) or Prince Silentó, is an American rapper.[4] He is best known for his 2015 debut single "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)", which charted at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 when he was 17. He later released a project titled Fresh Outta High School in August 2018 after some delay. He is from Stone Mountain, Georgia.[5]
On February 1, 2021, he was arrested in DeKalb County, Georgia, and charged with multiple murder-related counts in the shooting death of his cousin, Frederick Rooks following earlier charges including domestic violence, assault, and possession of a firearm. He remains in police custody.
Silentó's debut single, "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)", made with Bolo Da Producer, was released on his YouTube channel on June 25, 2015.[7] Over the course of one week, it gained over 2.5 million views. After making the song when he was 17 years old in his basement and having already garnered more than 100,000 streams on SoundCloud, A&R Executive Alex Wilhelm approached and signed him to Capitol Records.[8] They then released the track as a single with an accompanying music video. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. In June 2015, Silentó performed at the BET Awards, alongside the cast of the show Black-ish.[9]
He also performed the hit single on December 31, 2016, in Times Square for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.[10] On August 3, 2018, Silentó released his first mixtape, Fresh Outta High School, which was originally scheduled to be released on May 25. He later released Fresh Outta High School Part 2 on November 29, 2018.
On August 28, 2020, he was arrested following a domestic disturbance. After being charged with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant he was released. The following day he was again arrested in Valley Village, Los Angeles after walking into a stranger's home wielding a hatchet while looking for his girlfriend.[11]
Silentó was arrested again on October 23, 2020. Police charged him with speeding and reckless driving, alleging that he had been driving at 143 miles per hour (230 km/h) on Interstate 85.[12]
On February 1, 2021, he was arrested in DeKalb County and charged with malice murder and felony murder, among other charges in the shooting and death of his cousin. Police responded to a shots fired call on January 21, 2021, at around 3:30 a.m. in the Panthersville area, and he was booked into the DeKalb jail on one count of murder.[13] He was indicted on August 3, 2021, on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.[14]
The twenty-three year-old rapper was denied bond as he was considered a flight risk.
According to TMZ, the lawyers for Silento, whose real name is Richard "Ricky" Lamar Hawk, argued he is a role model in his community and not a flight risk. Nonetheless, the judge believed due to his mental health and a history of "not taking his prescribed medication made him a risk to the community", the outlet reports.
Even Silento's grandparents asked the judge to deny his $25,000 bail request.[15]
In 2020, Hawk faced legal issues when he was accused of two instances of assault involving a deadly weapon. Initially granted a $105,000 bond, it was subsequently revoked following his failure to appear in court.[16] He remains in police custody in the DeKalb jail in Georgia until a trial date is set.[17]
![[icon]](https://akarinohon.com/text/taketori.cgi/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
