After being remanded back to jail for violating COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, Tekashi 6ix9ine’s co-defendant and former friend, Kooda B, was sentenced on Tuesday morning.
Kooda, who was born Kintea McKenzie, was sentenced to 54 months and three years of supervised release for his involvement in the 2017 Chief Keef shooting outside of the W Hotel in Times Square.
“I’m willing to take full responsibility for my actions,” McKenzie said in a letter to the judge back in October. “That was a extremely foolish choice I made. I allowed myself to look up to and listen to someone with more success and fame. That was not the right thing to do. I regret it and it won’t happen again. I thought he was a good friend. I was excited that he named a song after me.”
But Judge Paul Engelmayer cited Kooda B’s lyrics and visuals which promoted gang activity and violence. He specifically cited records like “Blicky’s Funeral,” “Walking Through the Ville (A Thousand Miles Remix),” “6IX9INE,” “Quagmire,” and more.
“[A] number of the videos you made prior to your arrest in this case seemed to glorify and promote gangs… You often held a red bandana, a common symbol of the Bloods, and you made hand gestures believed to be gang symbols,” Engelmayer said Tuesday. “The government’s sentencing letter reproduces your lyrics, which affirmatively promote violence as you rap about shootings and kidnappings and other violence, and guns. And these videos were made through the summer of 2019, long after you had been charged in this case. I found that disappointing. So let me be blunt: you need to grow up and get a more mature perspective on gang activity. If you continue to pursue a career involving rapping and public performances, I hope you will stop romanticizing gang violence. I hope you have learned from this experience that gang violence is not something to celebrate.”
