The rise (and subsequent fall) of Tekashi 6ix9ine has been fascinating to keep track of. The man, born Daniel Hernandez, was seemingly disinterested in becoming a rapper until he needed to find a steady source of income for his newborn daughter. That's when he decided to put his stellar social media skills to the test, becoming one of the biggest viral sensations in the world. All of that is documented in Rolling Stone's extensive new feature about the rainbow-haired kid's career. With Tekashi facing a maximum sentence of life in prison after being charged with racketeering, Rolling Stone reached out to several people who were close to 6ix9ine to learn more about his situation.
After he was kidnapped and had his jewelry stolen from him last year, the rapper's label head says that he tried to get Tekashi to move out of New York. Elliott Grainge, the CEO of 10K Projects, tried to convince the star to head to Calabasas, fearing for his safety. Despite Danny's later collaborations with Kanye West, he allegedly had zero interest in moving out of Bushwick to be closer to Drake and Ye.
Before he met his former manager Shotti, 6ix9ine had not been involved in gang life at all, state some of the musician's close friends. The full feature is truly eye-opening and you can read it here.