Tekashi 6ix9ine, the controversial Brooklyn rapper, has consistently kept his name in the headlines as his federal court case continues. The 23-year-old, born Daniel Hernandez, was arrested on November 16th, 2018 at the peak of his career on weapons, drugs, and racketeering charges. Last February, 6ix9ine pleaded guilty to nine charges. He will be sentenced this January and faces a maximum of 47 years. However, due to heavy cooperation, it is possible he does not even see any additional jail time after January. It’s not the lengthy potential sentence that has caused this story to garner so much press, however. Its 6ix9ine’s testimony on the witness stand that has captured the public’s attention.
Tekashi 6ix9ine is a fascinating hip-hop PR case study. His long, flowing, rainbow hair and his sixty-nine tattoos of the number 69 makes him instantly recognizable. However, 6ix9ine was more than just a freak show. It was his braggadocious, outlandish, and baseless statements, claims, and threats that kept people engrossed in him after initially thinking he nothing more than a living meme.
His short career was marked by feud after feud with what felt like every single other famous rapper. Despite constantly releasing music at the time, 6ix9ine was focused on shaping himself as the ultimate polarizing rapper. He succeeded in this pursuit. For a while that is. Tekashi made the mistake of trying to actually live the gangster lifestyle he rapped about, despite having no gang affiliation before the start of his career.
6ix9ine eventually found himself in for more than he bargained for. At one point members of his own gang kidnapped him and robbed him of millions of dollars worth of jewelry. His own manager even tried to have him killed. Him being arrested for his involvement with those who had already turned on him was only the icing on the cake.
Tekashi 6ix9ine destroyed the reputation he had been spending years carefully trying to craft by immediately co-operating with the authorities and snitching on his former crew. Reports of his testimony paint a picture of someone happy to give any and all information to the authorities. In hip-hop culture, snitching is viewed as one of the most egregious sins a man can commit. Consequently, Tekashi has destroyed any street credibility he had left.
Given that he will probably be back on the streets within the next 10 years, and that reports indicate he will not enter the witness protection program, it will be intriguing to see how Tekashi 6ix9ine comes back from this and rebuilds his brand. Many people think he is naive and that his life will be endangered if he tries to restart his rap career after leaving jail. I think he will come back and go straight back to being the boisterous clown he was before all of this. I think that he is a one-trick pony and that all he will be able to do to come back from this crisis is to try and play it cool like he was right to snitch all along.
What do you think the fate of Tekashi 6ix9ine’s career will be, after he is released from prison?
The Water Drop 