Silento has been arrested by the Dekalb County Police and charged with murdering his cousin, which has led to fans what has happened to this once-promising rapper.
The 23-year-old rapper, whose real name is Ricky Hawk, had a hit in 2015 with Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae); however, he is now behind bars following his arrest on Monday.
The Dekalb County Police Department tweeted out the details yesterday afternoon. They said they had arrested Silento on charges of murdering Frederick Rooks in a suburb east of Atlanta.
The cops said Rooks was found shot dead on January 21 and that Silento was currently sat in county jail.
Murder motive is still unknown
The police haven’t confirmed a motive for the murder, and they’ve not said how the detectives allegedly connected Silento to the crime.
TMZ reported that the investigators had obtained footage from several homes in the neighborhood, which showed a shot being fired and several cars fleeing the scene.
This isn’t the first time Silento has found himself dealing with the law.
Last October, the rapper was allegedly caught speeding his BMW on the highway at 143 mph. He blamed his speed on fans following him after an event.
A month before that incident, he was arrested in Los Angeles after he allegedly attacked two strangers with an ax.
It was claimed he was looking for his girlfriend when he entered an unlocked house and tried to attack the two occupants.
Fans expressed shock over Silento arrest
Fans on Twitter have expressed shock at the rapper’s arrest on murder charges.
Fans have also lamented his fall, with one fan describing his “rapid decline” since his What Me single as “heartbreaking.”
Other fans suggested that Silento had been struggling with mental health issues for some time and suspected that the “people close to him had been watching him spiral for a while.”
However, other Twitter users argued that people should not be making excuses for the rapper.
Silento’s hit tune, Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae), reached number 3 in the US Charts in 2015. He has continued making music and released a new single, Swish, last week, but has not reached the same levels of fame as in 2015.
Also this week, news emerged yesterday that Rapper Uzzy Marcus’s brother, Raymond Michael Weber (aka Zino), has been arrested for allegedly murdering two women and live-streaming the corpses on Instagram.
Last week, another Atlanta based rapper, 6 Dogs, passed away at the age of 21. His cause of death has not been confirmed. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 last summer.