6ix9ine

Daniel Hernandez (born May 8, 1996), known professionally as 6ix9ine (pronounced "six nine"), Tekashi69, or Tekashi 6ix9ine, is an American rapper. His music has been marked by an aggressive style of rapping, while his controversial public persona is characterized by his distinctive rainbow-colored hair, tattoos, legal problems, social media "trolling", and publicized celebrity feuds. As of January 2026, Hernandez is serving a three-month sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, for violating supervised release conditions from his 2019 racketeering case.

Hernandez first became known for his guest performance on Trippie Redd's 2017 single "Poles 1469", followed by the release of his debut single, "Gummo" that same year, which was a sleeper hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The latter preceded his debut mixtape Day69 (2018), which was further supported by the singles "Kooda", "Keke" (with Fetty Wap and A Boogie wit da Hoodie), and "Gotti", all of which entered the Hot 100. "Fefe" (featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz), the second single from his debut album Dummy Boy (2018), peaked at number three on the chart. Despite negative critical reception, Dummy Boy peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 2015, Hernandez pleaded guilty to a felony count of use of a child in a sexual performance and was sentenced to a four-year probation period and a 1,000-hour community service order. In 2018, Hernandez, his manager Kifano "Shotti" Jordan, and 10 other members of the Nine Trey Gangsters faction of the United Blood Nation street gang were arrested and charged with racketeering and various felony crimes. Hernandez received a 2-year prison sentence in December 2019 after turning state's evidence against the gang and its members. In April 2020, he was put on house arrest for the remainder of his sentence and was released that August.

Hernandez briefly maintained commercial success following his release, with his 2020 singles "Gooba" and "Trollz" (with Nicki Minaj) peaking at number three and one on the Hot 100, respectively. His second album, TattleTales (2020), debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and his third album Leyenda Viva (2023)—his first reggaeton album—failed to make any worldwide chart impact. Due to his role as an informant in the Nine Trey Gangsters trial, several hip-hop figures and outlets condemned or ostracized Hernandez, who argued Hernandez associated with, provided financial compensation to, and committed crimes with gang members solely to gain street credibility and further his rap career, leading to a decimation of his public image.

Personal life

Early life

Daniel Hernandez was born on May 8, 1996, in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, to Natividad Perez-Hernandez, a factory worker and house cleaner from Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico, and Daniel Hernandez Sr., from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Hernandez and his older brother, Oscar Hernandez, were raised in a church throughout their youth. He went to elementary school at Public School 59. He went to middle school at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School. He went to high school at Legacy High School. He left high school around the tenth grade.

Hernandez did not know his father until he was 9 years old and had only a brief relationship with him. Hernandez's mother told him he was dead, according to Hernandez's father. Hernandez's father had a heroin addiction and was in prison for five years for selling drugs. Hernandez's stepfather, who also was Puerto Rican, was shot dead steps away from the family home in 2010. After the murder of his stepfather, Hernandez "spiraled into a deep depression", and would not shower or eat. Hernandez also started to act out due to his stepfather's death and was eventually expelled from school in the 8th grade for bad behavior. Rather than continuing his education, he started working various jobs such as being a busboy.

Adult life

In September 2022, Hernandez became the goalkeeper of the Russian media football team GOATS.

Hernandez is Christian.

Relationships

At 18 years old, Hernandez had a daughter with ex-girlfriend Sara Molina. Hernandez has another daughter who was born November 19, 2018, with Marlayna M.

In 2023, Hernandez began a relationship with Dominican rapper and singer Yailin La Más Viral (Georgina Guillermo Díaz). She was previously involved with Hernandez's collaborator-turned-rival, Anuel AA. By September 2024, Yailin La Más Viral was reported to be Hernandez's ex-girlfriend.

Health

Hernandez suffers from asthma.

On October 1, 2020, Hernandez was reportedly hospitalized after having an overdose from mixing two Hydroxycut diet pills with a McDonald's McCafé coffee, though his lawyer denies this claim.

Music career

2012–2016: Early career

Hernandez first decided to rap in 2012 after meeting Peter "Righteous P" Rodgers, CEO of New York record label Hikari-Ultra, when he came into the vegan bodega Hernandez was working at in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and asked if Hernandez rapped based on his appearance, stating that he thought he had the image of a rapper and suggested that he rap because of this, along with Hernandez' cadence.

Hernandez began releasing rap songs in 2014, starting with "69" in August 2014, "Pimpin", in September 2014, and both "Who The Fuck is You" and "4769" in October 2014, the latter of which was his first collaboration as a lead artist featuring two rappers from the Brooklyn collective Pro Era, J.A.B. and Dirty Sanchez. Over the next three years, he released multiple tracks and videos with titles such as "Scumlife", "Shinigami" (named after the Japanese death god Shinigami from Death Note), "Yokai" and "Hellsing Station", drawing attention for his aggressive rapping style and use of anime as music video visuals. Many of his early songs were released by FCK THEM, a music label based in Slovakia. He adopted the stage name "Tekashi69"; "Tekashi" references Japanese anime, which he was a fan of, while "69" references both the 69 sex position and the yin-yang symbol.

Gathering fame as an internet meme for his rainbow-dyed hair, extensive tattoos, and rainbow-plated grills, he eventually became an associate of fellow New York rapper ZillaKami, the younger half-brother of Righteous P. They later feuded after Hernandez discovered Righteous P and ZillaKami were going to sign a record deal with Epic, in an attempt by ZillaKami to drop him due to a lack of control over Hernandez, alleged unpaid bail money, the surfacing of misconduct allegations against Hernandez, and a dispute over allegedly stolen instrumentals. Soon after Hernandez began working with Andrew Green a rapper known as TrifeDrew, again, who had previously worked with him on music videos to work on videos again along with music.

2017–2018: Day69, Dummy Boy, Nine Trey Gangsters affiliation

"Poles 1469", released in April 2017, featured Hernandez alongside Trippie Redd on YouTube. Hernandez rose to prominence on social media due to a July 2017 Instagram post that went viral on both Reddit and Twitter. Hernandez's commercial debut single "Gummo" was released on November 10, 2017, and eventually peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 5, 2018. His next single, "Kooda", debuted at number 61 on the Hot 100 the week of December 23, 2017. On January 14, 2018, Hernandez released his third single, "Keke", with Fetty Wap and A Boogie wit da Hoodie, which also charted on the Hot 100.

"Gummo" was part of an effort from Hernandez and his management to rebrand Hernandez's image from the punk, rap-rock aesthetic he had cultivated, and a fanbase mostly in European countries such as Slovakia, towards a more gangster rap, American, and "urban" sound. Hernandez would state in a 2020 interview with The New York Times, "I was killing the European market. But when you're a kid from New York, you don't want to be the kid that is only being played in Slovakia. I want to go outside in New York and hear my music. I want to go to the club and hear my music blasting through those speakers. What's the point of doing something and you're not the best at doing it in your hometown?"