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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 – her rainbow hair is gone but the "69" tattoo visible on her forehead that everyone can hear in the audience hall – explained that her role in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods consisted of " continue to strike and provide financial support to the gang. " … so that they can buy firearms and stuff like that. "
When asked what he had in return, the 23-year-old rapper replied, "My career, I've gained the credibility of the street." Videos, music, protection – everything what precedes."
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. This decision put him at risk behind bars and prompted the rap icon Snoop Dogg to call him "snitch" in a recent Instagram post.
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.
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 multiplatinum hit song, "Fefe", starring Nicki Minaj, who climbed to 3rd place on the pop chart, and "Stoopid", featuring incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.
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 ".
Prosecutors showed the jury parts of the videos so that 6ix9nine could identify various gang members, some of whom were targeting tapes and placards on the tape, and explain the lyrics of songs which he said were often intended for taunt "someone with whom I did not hear."
When the videos exploded on the Internet, "I knew I had a formula," he said.
He must return to the witness stand on Wednesday.
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