OC Rapper Silento Behind Hit 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' Arrested

LOS ANGELES, CA —Silento, the 22-year-old rapper behind the 2015 hit "Watch Me" (Whip/Nae Nae), is facing two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly walking into a stranger's home in Valley Village on Saturday and attempting to attack two people with a hatchet, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The entertainer, whose real name is Richard Lamar Hawk, walked into the unlocked home and tried to hit two people with the hatchet before one of them managed to disarm him, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. At the time, the Santa Ana resident was out on bail after having been arrested the day before for allegedly attacking his girlfriend in the 100 block of Macarthur Avenue. According to ABC7, Saturday's hatchet attack occurred when he entered a random home searching for his girlfriend.

Silento was scheduled for arraignment Friday. The charges — which carry a potential maximum six-year state prison sentence — include allegations that he used the hatchet as a deadly and dangerous weapon and that he committed the crime while out on bail or his own recognizance.

Silento's debut album in 2105 was a hit thanks to "Watch Me," which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

The rapper was arrested the same day by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Division and has remained jailed in lieu of $105,000 bail since then. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, North Hollywood Station.
City News Service contributed to this report.

City News Service