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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork / AP) – Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine testified on Tuesday against two alleged members of a Brooklyn street gang, describing how he had discovered a formula of success with the crew before betraying her by becoming a prosecution witness.
6ix9ine – a native of Brooklyn – explained that his role in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods was to "continue to make success and provide financial support to the gang … so that they can buy guns, etc." ".
When asked what he had in return, the 23-year-old rapper replied, "My career. I have the credibility of the street. Videos, music, protection – all the above. "
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The 6ix9ine rapper, or Tekashi 69, performs at the Philipp Plein fashion show as part of the Spring / Summer 2019 Fashion Week in Milan on September 21, 2018. (Credit: Marco Bertorello / AFP / Getty Images)
The testimony before a federal court in Manhattan was a dramatic turnaround for an artist who went out of his way to portray himself as a legitimate gang member. He told the jury that he had decided to cooperate only a day after his arrest last year on a racketeering charge calling him a gang member. A move that put him at risk behind bars and prompted the rap icon Snoop Dogg to call him "snitch" in a recent Instagram post.
MORE: Brooklyn rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine pleads guilty to federal charges and recognizes his links to a violent gang
Aljermiah Mack and Anthony Ellison, tried by prosecutors, are two prominent members of a gang that terrorized the streets of the city by drug trafficking and gunfire. They say that after a scramble with 6ix9ine, Ellison has avenged himself by abducting and stealing the rapper.
MORE: Rapper Tekashi69 says the men forced him from a car and stole some jewels
The two accused denied the charges, an attorney for Ellison describing the alleged kidnapping as a publicity stunt.
Sixteen-year-old, 23, was a social media phenomenon with millions of followers on Instagram before becoming a dominant name in hip-hop. He had a multi-platinum hit song, "Fefe", starring Nicki Minaj, who was third in the pop charts, and "Stoopid", featuring incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.
Last year, more than 13,000 people signed up for a Facebook group aimed at releasing Tekashi 6ix9ine from Brooklyn Prison after the rapper was charged with racketeering and firearms.
The Facebook group "Break 6ix9ine out of jail" was created by a person using the name TR3YWAY and indicates December 12 as the date of "the event", although the article is primarily a place where fans can comment on their support.
Prosecutors referring to him under his legal name, Daniel Hernandez, said 6ix9ine on Tuesday that he was a high school dropout and a deli worker when he started his rap career. He added that he had begun to invite gang members to make extras in his videos for "Gummo" and other hit songs, he said, "because I wanted that the aesthetic is full of Nine Trey ".
The prosecutors showed the jury parts of the videos so that the police could identify various gang members, some of whom were videotapes and cassettes on the tapes, and explain the lyrics, which he said were often intended to taunt "somebody". One with whom I did not hear myself. "
When videos exploded on the Internet, "I knew I had a formula," he said.
He will return to the witness stand on Wednesday.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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