In a dramatic, live-streamed surrender, controversial rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has entered one of America's most notorious federal jails, where he will serve a short sentence alongside an international roster of infamous inmates.
Live-Streamed Surrender to a Troubled Facility
The 29-year-old artist, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, reported to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in his native Brooklyn on Tuesday. He arrived in a luxury van accompanied by internet personality Adin Ross and a camera crew, broadcasting his surrender live to his audience. This facility is the sole federal jail in New York City but has earned a grim reputation. Several judges have refused to send individuals there, with some describing its conditions as "hell on earth" due to persistent violence and poor living standards.
A Star-Studded and Notorious Inmate Roster
MDC Brooklyn currently houses an extraordinary list of detainees. They include Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as well as Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare. Over the years, the jail has been a temporary home for a constellation of high-profile figures, including R&B singer R. Kelly, music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Hernandez's legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. However, they have previously stated that the rapper is looking forward to completing his sentence so he can return to his music career.
A History of Legal Troubles and Cooperation
This latest incarceration stems from Hernandez admitting last year to assaulting a man and possessing drugs, which violated the terms of his supervised release from a previous gang-related case. In December, he was sentenced to serve an additional three months in federal custody. This follows a 45-day sentence he received in 2024 for another breach of his release conditions.
The rapper first rose to fame with his 2017 hit "Gummo." His career took a sharp turn in 2018 when he pleaded guilty to his involvement with the violent Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a New York-based gang. His extensive cooperation with authorities in the racketeering case against other gang members led to a two-year prison sentence in 2019, followed by five years of supervised release. He was let out of federal prison a few months early in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The specific violations leading to his current sentence involve small quantities of cocaine and ecstasy discovered during a police raid on his Miami residence. Prosecutors also stated that he punched a man who taunted him at a Florida mall about his cooperation with law enforcement against his former gang associates.
