Silento, metro Atlanta native and rapper, has been arrested in two separate incidents that police say happened as he searched for his girlfriend.
The “Watch Me (Whip/Nae/Nae)” artist was arrested on domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon charges after incidents in Orange County, California, and Los Angeles, police told ABC news affiliate KABC. The rapper, whose real name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was taken into custody Aug. 28 after a domestic disturbance was reported at a Santa Ana home in the 100 block of MacArthur Boulevard. He was booked and released on a charge of inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant.
A day later, police say Hawk arrived with a hatchet in hand to a home in the 12700 block of Burbank Boulevard in the Valley Village, a neighborhood outside of Los Angeles. The homeowners, who did not know him, told police the 22-year-old claimed he was looking for his girlfriend. The homeowners and their children were present when he came to their home, but no one was harmed.
He was arrested a second time just a block away from the home and later charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
The former teenage rap sensation found success across the globe with his song and dance craze “Whip/Nae Nae” in 2015. His music video for the track was viewed more than 1.5 billion times on YouTube. In 2017, he was banned from leaving the United Arab Emirates due to a business dispute. He was ordered by a court in the city of Al Ain to pay a local promoter $81,500 because he failed to perform two scheduled shows. His representatives at the time said he did not cancel any shows.
Last year, the Billboard chart-topper, who was raised in Stone Mountain, lent his star status to DoSomething.org’s anti-vaping campaign.
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