Silento arrested: Watch Me rapper charged with murdering his cousin

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Rapper Silento has been arrested and charged with the murder of his cousin.

DeKalb County Police Department confirmed that Silento, real name Ricky Hawk, was arrested on 1 February after his cousin, Frederick Rooks, was found shot dead on 21 January.

The 23-year-old had a hit with his single Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) in 2015, which reached No.3 in America and No.19 in the UK.

He’s currently being held in DeKalb County Jail and is charged with murder.

According to XXL magazine, the 34-year-old victim was found bleeding heavily after suffering gunshot wounds to his face and leg in a suburb of Georgia, US.

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. #WeAreDKPD pic.twitter.com/AfaA8CtXgx

— DeKalb County Police Department (@DeKalbCountyPD) February 1, 2021 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Newsbeat has contacted Silento’s management for a statement, but they are yet respond.

Shortly before his arrest, he shared a request on his Instagram story inviting his 494,000 followers to send him money via CashApp for “selfies, videos and shoutouts”.

The one-hit wonder shot to fame with Watch Me in 2015, but it was his only hit single.

The video has been watched more than 1.7 billion times on YouTube.

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He’s been releasing music ever since – and his most recent release, Swish, was released on 28 January 2021.

In 2020 he was arrested twice – once after an incident with a hatchet and another on driving charges, according to US gossip site, TMZ.

Newsbeat has contacted DeKalb County Police Department for more information.

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