6ix9ine

Public opinion about the artist of Mexican descent has fluctuated over the years.

The world of the music industry is full of eccentric singers and among them is Tekashi 6ix9ine, who in addition to consolidating a solid career in the field of Hip Hop, has also positioned himself as one of the most controversial figures.

Daniel Hernández -real name of the famous- was born in Brooklyn, United States, and according to an old interview he gave to El Gordo y la Flaca, he took his artistic nickname from a tattoo artist who was called that way in the place where she lived.

The rapper assured in that conversation that his family life was not easy, because his mother – who is Mexican – had serious financial problems when he was little.

“She didn’t have a job, because she has arthritis, she started selling bottles of the ones you see on the street, we were poor,” she recounted.

This was just one of the difficulties that 6ix9ine faced in his youth, because in 2009, his stepfather was murdered a few streets from the house where he lived.

“I was 13 years old, he told me to go to the store with him to do some shopping (and I didn’t want to go). They struck one, two o’clock and I looked at the clock and said: ‘It’s already three, four, where is it? the supermarket is three blocks from the house. A neighbor was playing and said: ‘He’s lying there on the street’, when I heard that I ran out naked and a block away I saw him lying there. They hit him with a bat, ”he narrated.

Abuse of a minor

Although Tekashi 6ix9ine debuted in 2014 with his songs 69, Pimpin and 4769. A year later, he revealed that he had been accused of posting a video on the Internet where he was seen having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The rapper argued that, when the events occurred, he would have been 17 years old, for which reason he was also a minor. However, a short time later he revealed that he was actually 18.
Due to this situation, Tekashi was arrested and pleaded guilty in October 2015 after accepting a plea agreement where he had to complete a certification of technical studies called General Education Development (GED in English) and not get involved in any type of fight or problems. until his sentence was executed, which was scheduled for 2017.

However, according to the American medium Pitchfork, the hearing was delayed on multiple occasions because the artist did not take the GED. But in 2018 Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced 6ix9ine to four years of probation and a thousand hours of community service.

The links with a dangerous gang in the United States

But the controversies for Tekashi did not stop there, since in 2018 the singer of hits like Mala, Fefe or Trollz was accused in 2018 of possession of weapons and conspiracy to commit crimes such as drug trafficking, armed robbery, violence and crimes with a firearm.

In addition, he was linked to the Nine Trey Gangster Bloods gang, which was founded in the 1990s in a New York prison and which, in addition to operating in other parts of the United States, was characterized by the distribution and sale of drugs, extortion as well as robbery.
On that occasion, the artist was arrested and, due to the seriousness of the crimes with which he was charged, the rapper was possibly about to face a lengthy prison sentence. However, the case took a brutal turn when 6ix9ine chose to collaborate with justice and testified against his gang mates.

This, coupled with the fact that in early 2019 he pleaded guilty, served as elements so that instead of being sentenced to decades in prison, he was sentenced to two years -of which by then he had already served 13 months.
Among some of the testimonies that Tekashi gave to the US government was where he stated that his role in said gang consisted of “continuing to make hits and being the financial support for the band… so they could buy weapons and things like that” and, when was questioned about what he received in exchange for that, he pointed out: “My career. I have street credibility. The videos, the music, the protection, all of the above.”

The ragman obtained his early release from the prison in 2020 because his lawyer appealed that 6ix9ine had asthma and going through the COVID-19 pandemic in prison could jeopardize his health. For this, the artist served the rest of his sentence in confinement from his house and under government surveillance.

Fraud accusations against Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande

In May 2020, 6ix9ine released his single Gooba and, a day later, Stuck with U, Ariana Grande’s collaboration with Justin Bieber, came out.

Although the path of the poppers seemed not to be linked to the rapper, a controversy involved them all a week later, because when the Billboard list was published it was revealed that the success of Justin and Ariana was in first place, while that of Tekashi was in the third.

Regarding this, 6ix9ine made a video where he showed his discontent and assured that it had been a fraud, since it seemed strange to him that Stuck with U quickly rose from fifth place to first.

“I’m going to say this quickly because I will be very disappointed if Billboard accepts payment for number ones, somehow manipulates the charts. I want everyone to see because what I’m going to show you is a forecast of what any label in the world receives: Atlantic, Interscope, Republic, Columbia, Sony, Universal Music,” he said, adding:

“All the labels receive it and it was sent yesterday. Number one: Doja Cat ‘Say So’; number two 6ix9ine ‘Gooba’; number three The Weeknd ‘Blinding Lights’; four Meghan Stallions; number five Ariana Grande, ‘Stuck With U’. Last night, which is completely illegal, Ariana Grande’s ‘Stuck with U’ shipped 60,000 units out of nowhere. This is the forecast that they sent to the labels and it puts Ariana Grande at 43.7, and gives them 12 points. They went from fifth place, to first out of nowhere.”

The 6ix9ine team did an “investigation” where they claimed that apparently six credit cards had been used to purchase 30,000 units of the melody, and Tekashi assured that after questioning Billboard about this, the company could not give them concrete answers.

For his part, the singer of Baby and the interpreter of melodies such as Side to side or Thank u, Next explained their version from their social networks and defended themselves against the accusations against them.

“My fans bought the song. Justin’s fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS IS THE RULES). They go for everything and I thank God every day that I have them in my life. Not just when they fight for us to win (even when I ask them not to like I did this week) but because they are some of the best people I know. Sales count more than streaming. They can’t discredit this as hard as they try, ”Ariana posted on her Instagram account.

Later, Tekashi positioned himself and made a video to Grande to point out that he wasn’t attacking her, but was upset for other reasons.

“You don’t understand my pain and my frustration towards Billboard. I’m speaking for the guys who come from nothing. I want you to understand that I come from a very different place than you. My mom collected cans on the street, I was a dishwasher, ”she said.

The millionaire gifts that the rapper gives

After a life of controversy, Tekashi continues to generate all kinds of scandals today, but in 2022 he revealed that the famous wanted to carry out acts of solidarity and had the intention of giving away USD 50,000 randomly every week.

Thus, one of the moments that went viral happened in Cancun, Quintana Roo, where the artist approached a family’s house and offered them an outlandish amount of money.

“We want to give him a million pesos. Paisita, this is for you and your family. It’s all yours, little country ”, she is heard saying in the recording, while she takes out the wads of money to the surprise of the Mexicans who began to cry with emotion.

Another clip that went viral was when 6ix9ine went to Ecuador and distributed the same amount of money among several low-income people and families in the region.

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