Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk (born January 22, 1998), better known as Silentó () or Prince Silentó, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his 2015 debut single "

Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) "Watch Me" (also known as Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)) is the debut single by American rapper Silentó. In March 2015, he was signed to Capitol Records, which released the track as a single with an accompanying music video. The song peaked at number ...

", which charted at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He later released a project titled ''Fresh Outta High School'' in August 2018 after some delay. He is a native of

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 according to the 2020 US Census. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square mil ...

. On February 1, 2021, he was arrested in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inclu ...

and charged with multiple

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

-related counts in the shooting death of his cousin, Frederick Rooks. He is currently being held without bond.

Career

Silentó's debut single, "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)", made with Bolo Da Producer, was released on his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on June 25, 2015. 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 SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

, A&R Executive

Alex Wilhelm Alex Wilhelm is a music executive, A&R representative and the co-owner of 48 Hours Entertainment, based in Los Angeles. Before launching his own company, Alex worked in senior A&R roles at record companies such as Warner Records, Capitol Records, ...

approached and signed him to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. 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 The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

, alongside the cast of the show ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

''. He also performed the hit single on December 31, 2016, in Times Square for ''

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

'' with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

. On August 3, 2018, Silentó released his first album, ''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.

Legal issues

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 Valley Village is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, located within the San Fernando Valley. History Founding According to Elke Garman, co-president of the Valley Village Homeowners Association in 1991, the history of Valley Village wen ...

after walking into a stranger's home wielding a hatchet while looking for his girlfriend. Silentó was arrested again on October 23, 2020. Police charged him with speeding and reckless driving, alleging that he had been driving at on

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...

Murder charges

On February 1, 2021, he was arrested in

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

and charged with

malice murder Malice murder is a criminal offense in the U.S. state of Georgia, committed when a homicide is done with express or implied malice. Definition According to Georgia law, express malice is "that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of ...

and

felony murder The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...

, 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. 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.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silento 1998 births 2021 murders in the United States 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers African-American songwriters American male songwriters Capitol Records artists Living people People charged with assault People charged with murder People from Stone Mountain, Georgia Pop rappers Rappers from Atlanta Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Southern hip hop musicians