rolling with the gang gang gang

Supposedly you’re at the height of your career, earning millions of dollars, and are now faced with swapping the mansion for a cold cell for 47+ years. But not if you snitch on members of a deadly gang. Would you do it?

Tekashi6ix9ine was not ready to give up the Cristal champagne and private jets just after he’d got a taste for the lifestyle, preferring to “live fast, die young”. He was charged with racketeering, carrying a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy murder charges whilst he was a member of violent US gang Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods in 2017. Racketeering refers to criminal actions to extract money from others.

The 23 year old rapper, born Daniel Hernandez, originally pleaded not guilty in New York, however entered a plea bargain to testify against his former associations by providing evidence and receiving a lesser sentence. He proceeded to testify against Anthony Ellison and Aljermiah Mack who have since been sentenced.

Throughout the trial, he was accused of using his gang associations to further his music career and notoriety, which ultimately would put his life in danger. He was so desperately portrayed as a fame hungry individual desperate to dramatise the dealings of the clients of the defence lawyers.

Victim impact statements were given in court, including a woman known as “L.L” who claims Hernandez shot her in the foot. He was given an opportunity to apologise, offering to pay her medical bills. He further explained that he had become a victim of the gang, alleging they had stolen from him and one member had slept with the mother of his child. His time in the gang had led to his work with underprivileged children and the Make a Wish Foundation, acknowledging he “had failed my own beautiful daughters”.

Detailing an evening he was kidnapped by Ellison and another male, he alleged he was ordered at gun point to enter a car before being driven to his home and forced to hand over $365, 000 worth of chains, jewellery and watches including a Rolex. After being dumped behind a housing complex, he sought refuge in a strangers car before attending a police complex to report the incident.

Despite his attempts to disassociate himself with the Gang during the trial, he has featured members in his song “GUMMO”, which has since been viewed 350 million times worldwide on YouTube. It is also difficult for Hernandez to go unnoticed. He has the number “69” tattooed across his forehead, and sports long, rainbow coloured braids. He yearned for the street cred the gang would provide him, and they saw him as a financial asset.

His bold move to collaborate with Prosecutors may cost his those in the studio. With rap heavyweight Snoop Dogg labelling him a “rat” and Meek Mill tweeting he is an “internet gangsta”, he may have to tap into other industries. His eagerness to provide elaborate information of the underground dealings has probably not impressed fellow rap artists Cardi B and Jim Jones.

He saw no issue in dragging their names into the drama by identifying Jones as the voice in one of the gang’s phone conversation recordings, denouncing him as “retired” and accusing him as a member of the gang, despite no connection to the trial.

During his cross-examination, Hernandez admitted he joined the gang to further his music career, admitting that Cardi B was a member of the gang despite his unfamiliarity with her work, and alleging the use of members in her video clips. She downplayed this to her 50 million Instagram followers, posting a meme joking she does not know who he is, despite previously acknowledging her affiliations to the Bloods.

His rapid rise to fame as a Brooklyn teenager has been credited to the internet given his image, use of rowdy tracks relating to crime and gangs, utilising his gang affiliation to further catapult him to global success and adding to his “authenticity”. But this may come with dangerous repercussions.

Despite admitting his “scumbag persona is just for shock value”, he endured the murder of his father as a 13 year old, and his mother having to deal drugs to support the family. However, things became confusing when his apparent biological father turned up to this trial.

Despite multiple brushes with the law, he became an Instagram sensation through his flamboyant clothing, two hundred “69” tattoos splashed across his body, and adopting a Japanese anime inspired persona. It was not until his profile amassed 15 million followers before he turned his attention to a career in rap.

It comes at no surprise that he had not had a publicist despite 10 of his singles falling in the Billboard Top 100. He enjoyed social media through baiting fellow rap artists including Chief Keef and YG, and daring others to “test my gangsta”. The use of self made internet notoriety even led to him filming videos with 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj.

His gang affiliated lyrics have translated to the streets, with an alleged shooting of a Bloods rival taking place inside the Barclays Centre before he was set to perform. Naturally, a video of him bragging about the shooting with the co-defendants on Instagram was shortly posted after.

Itching to return to the stage, the plea deal Hernandez took with the Prosecution saw his 13 month stint in a federal prison come to an end in 2019. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment which was later ruled to be served under supervision at home, fined $51, 000 and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service. Despite eligibility for the witness protection program, his distinctive look will be a big job to conceal.

During his address to jurors, he explained that his role within the gang was to “just keep making hits and be the financial support for the gang…so they can keep buying guns and stuff”. In return for the gang association, he gets “my career. I got the street credibility. The videos, the music, the protection - all of the above”. I am not too certain about the last factor.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Tekashi was released from prison in April to serve the remainder of his sentence at home. Conveniently, this now allows him to work on his next albums, and released a new single in early May, filming the video inside his residence. After residing at the current address for just over a month, he has already been relocated due to the address being leaked online and for safety concerns.

Given his release, it is fortunate he is able to distract from the potential threat of violence through his two upcoming albums. I will be interested to see if he continues to yell his trademark “Treyway” at the beginning of this future releases, at least I now know what it means when its playing on Spotify.