6ix9ine testifies for federal prosecutors against Nine Trey Bloods

Why it matters

September 17, 2019. Daniel Hernandez, who recorded as Tekashi 6ix9ine, testified for the federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York's racketeering case against the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods set. 6ix9ine, then 23, had been arrested with members of Nine Trey in November 2018 on federal racketeering and weapons charges. He had agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a substantially reduced sentence. The testimony lasted three days. 6ix9ine identified specific Nine Trey members in court, named participants in the crew's robberies and shootings, and walked through the internal structure of the organization in detail. His former associates Aljermiah "Nuke" Mack and Anthony "Harv" Ellison were convicted on the strength of his testimony. The cooperation was the most publicly visible rapper-as-government-witness arrangement in modern hip-hop history. 6ix9ine was released to home confinement in April 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns, served a substantially reduced sentence, and has been the subject of sustained public ostracism in the rap industry since. The case is in some sense settled (he is out, his cooperation worked). The reputational consequence is still operating.