A rapper in Tekashi69′s entourage pleaded guilty Monday to his role in a dangerous attempt to settle a hip-hop beef by shooting at a rival in front of a Times Square hotel.
Kintea “Kooda B” McKenzie said he accepted money from Tekashi and then arranged for a
shot to be fired at rapper Chief Keef before sunrise on June 2, 2018. No one was injured in the shooting, which came as Tekashi and Chief Keef waged a war of words over social media.
McKenzie “organized” the effort, according to prosecutors who only described Chief Keef in papers as a rival gang member. Under his plea deal with the feds, the 21-year-old McKenzie faces a likely sentence of around four to five years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.
“Today, Kintea McKenzie admitted his responsibility for a brazen shooting in bustling Times Square. In coordination with Tekashi69 and other Nine Trey gang members, McKenzie arranged to have another individual shoot at a rival gang member,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.
McKenzie faced daunting odds in court once Tekashi pleaded
guilty and agreed to cooperate with the feds. The young rapper released a song in March, “Talking,” which hints at his legal woes. “They making up stories, woah wait, when did this happen?” McKenzie raps.
Tekashi, whose whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was one of 11 people charged in a takedown of alleged Nine Trey Bloods gang members. While most have pleaded guilty, prosecutors expect one or two of the accused gangsters to go to trial starting
Sept. 4. Tekashi is expected to testify against them.