Last week, rainbow-haired, face-tattooed rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was arrested on federal racketeering and firearms charges. Authorities also arrested 6ix9ine's ex-manager. Kifano 'Shotti' Jordan, plus former associates Jensel 'Ish' Butler and Faheem 'Crippy' Walter. The joint investigation was a collaboration between Homeland Security, the NYPD and ATF (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.) The 22-year-old Brooklyn MC faces the possibility of prison.
On Monday, 6ix9ine pleaded not guilty to the charges, and will remain locked in jail until his trial on September 4, 2019. The issue of bail was not brought up in court today. Previously, 6ix9ine was denied bail when his attorney, Lance Lazzaro, offered to pay $750,000, surrender his passport and remain on house arrest. TMZ reports that Lazzaro plans to apply for bail again, this time directly to the trial judge.
Racketeering is involvement in dishonest or fraudulent business dealing. Following the arrest, The Department of Justice released a 17-page indictment, claiming 6ix9ine and his former associates were involved with, or members of, the violent New York City gang, Nine Trey Bloods. They believe Tekashi and his crew conspired to commit various crimes, including armed robberies, drug deals and shootings. The indictment lists 17 counts dating back to 2013.
In the report, HSI Special Agent in Charge, Angel M. Melendez wrote, "Members of Nine Trey, who wielded firearms and pushed highly addictive drugs onto New York City streets, allegedly showed an unprecedented level of violence this year, and for that they are now facing multiple charges, including an incident in which an innocent bystander was shot.
He continues, "This criminal enterprise has no business in our city, and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that Nine Trey crew members, including the more well-known ‘Tekashi 6ix 9ine,’ are in a place where they cannot inflict further violence on our communities."
Last Wednesday, Lazzaro released a statement claiming 6ix9ine is "completely innocent of all charges being brought against him." "An entertainer who portrays a 'gangster image' to promote his music does not make him a member of an enterprise," he said. "Mr. Hernandez became a victim of this enterprise and later took steps by firing employees and publicly denounced this enterprise through a morning show. Threats were then made against his life which resulted in this case being brought immediately."
Indeed, days before the arrest, 6ix9ine announced that he fired his entire team and was cancelling his American tour. His debut studio album, DUMMY BOY, featuring Kanye West and Nicki Minaj, was supposed to be released last week, but was indefinitely postponed due to his arrest. Lucky for fans, and unlucky for 6ix9ine, it leaked to the internet.
Remember 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj's hit Fefe, where he shouts out "F***ing TreyWay"? TreyWay is slang for the Nine Trey Bloods, and on his new album, the name has been hilariously edited out. On the song FEEFA, 6ix9ine begins, "It's f***ing..." Then someone else's voice cuts in, saying, "Yo, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, whoa, whoa, whoa. You cannot say that, bro, c'mon."
