Silentó

Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk^[3] (born January 22, 1998), better known as Silentó (/ˈsaɪləntoʊ/) or Prince Silentó, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.^[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. He later released a project titled Fresh Outta High School in August 2018 after some delay. He is a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[5]

Silentó
Silentó in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Richard Lamar Hawk
Born	(1998-01-22) January 22, 1998 (age 24) Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop snap
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2015–2021
Website	silentoworld.com
Criminal status	Incarcerated, awaiting trial^[1]
Criminal charge	Malice murder Felony murder Aggravated assault Criminal possession of a weapon^[2]
Date apprehended	February 1, 2021 (2021-02-01)

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. 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 channel on June 25, 2015.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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 after walking into a stranger's home wielding a hatchet while looking for his girlfriend.^[10]

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.^[11]

Murder charges

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.^[12] 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.^[13]

Discography

Mixtapes

Title	Album details
Fresh Outta High School^[14]	Released: August 3, 2018 Label: BB&R Enterprises Format: Digital download, streaming
Fresh Outta High School 2^[15]	Released: December 7, 2018 Label: BB&R Enterprises Format: Digital download, streaming
Skyrolyrics	Released: October 14, 2020 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streaming
Bars Behind Bars	Released: March 13, 2021 Label: BB&R Enterprises Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

Title	EP details
SilentóMOB: The Doctor's Exclusive	Released: May 10, 2019 Label: BB&R Enterprises Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

List of charted singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US ^[16]	AUS ^[17]	CAN ^[18]	DEN ^[19]	FRA ^[20]	GER ^[21]	NZ ^[22]	SWE ^[23]	SWI ^[24]	UK ^[25]
"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)"	2015	3	9	15	16	19	50	11	52	41	19	RIAA: 6× Platinum^[26] ARIA: 2× Platinum^[27] BPI: Silver^[28] MC: Platinum^[29] RMNZ: Gold^[30]	Non-album single
"No Sense"^[31]	2020	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Bars Behind Bars

As featured artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions							Certifications	Album
		US	US Dance ^[32]	AUS ^[17]	NZ ^[22]	DEN ^[33]	NOR ^[34]	SWE ^[23]
"Lightning in a Bottle"^[35] (Sunny featuring Silentó)	2015	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album single
"Dessert" (Dawin featuring Silentó)		68	5	7	6	17	—	—	RIAA: Platinum^[36] RMNZ: Gold^[37] ARIA: Platinum^[38]	Dessert
"Girl in the Mirror"^[39] (Sophia Grace featuring Silentó)	2016	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album singles
"Emoji"^[40] (Sicko Mobb featuring Silentó)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Spotlight"^[41] (Samuel featuring Silentó)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Slide"^[42] (ELS featuring Silentó)	2017	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Like It Like It" (Marcus & Martinus featuring Silentó)		—	—	—	—	—	16	48		Moments

Promotional singles

List of singles

Title	Year	Album
"Get Em"^[43]	2016	Non-album single

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Volcano"	2015	The Vamps	Wake Up
"Juicy Fruit"	2018		Night & Day (Day Edition)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	ref
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Rap/Hip-Hop Track	"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)"	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Award	Song of the Summer
	Soul Train Music Awards	Best Dance Performance		Won	^[44]
2016	Billboard Music Awards	Top New Artist		Nominated
2016	BET Awards	YoungStar Award		Nominated
2017	26th Seoul Music Awards	Global Collaboration Award	"Spotlight" w/Punch	Won	^[45]

References

1. "Silento Remains in Jail After Judge Denies Bail Request". Complex Networks.
2. Burns, Asia Simone. "Rapper Silento indicted on murder charge in cousin's shooting death". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
3. Kellman, Andy. "Silentó Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
4. "Silentó – Biography". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
5. Lee, Christina (December 14, 2015). "How Silentó got the nation doing nae nae". Maxim.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
6. Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) (audio) on YouTube
7. "As Calum Scott Soars, A&R Exec Alex Wilhelm on Signing Him to Capitol & Finding Hidden Gems When 'Goosebumps Meet Data'". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
8. "The kids from Black-ish had the best time at the BET Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
9. "New Year's Eve 2017: Times Square live ball drop and how to watch celebration online". nj.com. December 31, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
10. Woods, Aleia (September 3, 2020). "Silento Arrested After Walking Into Random Family's House With a Hatchet Looking for His Girlfriend". XXL. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
11. "Atlanta rapper Silento arrested after driving 143 mph on I-85, police say". WSBTV. October 25, 2020.
12. Hollis, Henri (February 1, 2021). "Atlanta rapper Silento charged with murdering his cousin in DeKalb". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
13. Li, David K. (August 17, 2021). "Rapper Silento indicted by Georgia grand jury for murder of his cousin". NBC News. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
14. "Fresh Outta High School – Album by Silento on Apple Music". Apple Music. August 3, 2018.
15. "Fresh Outta High School Part 2 by Silentó on Apple Music". Apple Music.
16. "Silento – Chart history: The Hot 100". Billboard. September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
17. "Discography Silentó". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
18. "Silento – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
19. "Discography Silentó". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
20. "Discographie Silentó". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
21. "Discographie Silentó" (Enter "Silentó" into the "Suchen" box). German Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
22. "Discography Silentó". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
23. "Discography Silentó". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
24. "Discographie Silentó" (select "Charts" tab). Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
25. "Silentó". Official Charts Company.
26. "American certifications – Silento". Recording Industry Association of America.
27. "CHART WATCH #352 – auspOp". Auspop.com.au. January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
28. "Certified Awards" (enter "Silento" into the "Keywords" box, then select "Search"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
29. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
30. "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
31. "No Sense – Single by Silentó on Apple Music". Apple Music. November 17, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
32. "Dawin – Chart history (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
33. "danishcharts.com - Danish charts portal". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
34. Steffen Hung (May 4, 2015). "Discography Silentó". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
35. "Lightning in a Bottle (feat. Silentó) – Single by Sunny". iTunes. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
36. "American single certifications – Dawin – Dessert". Recording Industry Association of America". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
37. "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
38. Ryan, Gavin (November 14, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Adele 'Hello' Spends Third Week at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
39. "Girl in the Mirror (feat. Silento) – Single by Sophia Grace". iTunes. June 9, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
40. "Emoji (feat. Silentó)". iTunes. September 2, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
41. "Spotlight – Single by Punch". iTunes. April 8, 2016.
42. "Slide (feat. Silentó) – Single by ELS". iTunes. April 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
43. "Get Em – Single". iTunes. March 18, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
44. "Winners". BET.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
45. "Watch Performances from the '26th Seoul Music Awards'!". allkpop.com. Retrieved August 15, 2017.