We all stared in confusion last September when Tekashi 6ix9ine testified against his former associates in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, implicating Cardi B and Jim Jones, among other oddities. Now, after heading home early from prison and restarting his rap career, 6ix9ine explained what was going through this his tangled rainbow head in an interview with the New York Times. Shortly after his former manager, Anthony “Harv†Ellison, was arrested for kidnapping 6ix9ine, the rapper’s lawyer got a call from federal agents saying 6ix9ine’s life was in danger. They met with the feds, who were already monitoring him. On November 18, two days after appearing on “The Breakfast Club,†he says he was scared and tired. “On Sunday, I went downstairs and I said, ‘I need to speak to your boss,’†he recalled. “I’m ready to snitch now.†The next day, he was arrested on federal charges of racketeering and firearms related to organized gang activity. He was facing up to 47 years in prison but got off with just two years; 13 months were for time spent, and four more were under house arrest. The defendants, Ellison and Aljermiah “Nuke†Mack, are currently facing life in prison. “This probably sounds sick, but I didn’t have a worry, because I wanted to testify,†6ix9ine said. “That’s sick, right? But I wanted to tell my truth.â€
“I really want this to hit home: When I was kidnapped, was I a victim?†he continued. “Did I cooperate? No. When they were stealing money from shows, did I cooperate? No. Did I have many chances to tell the police what I saw? Yes. I was following a street code that was upheld by me and that I thought was real.†6ix9ine doesn’t worry with his new security team, which can give him “eight, 12, 22†bodyguards. Even the feds didn’t think witness protection would work. “You’re too noticeable,†he remembered them saying.
Throughout the rest of the interview, 6ix9ine absolves himself of accountability in his domestic-violence case (“We did have physical fightsâ€), for his use of a child in a sexual-performance charge (“The thing with a 13-year-old girl, I was at the wrong place at the wrong timeâ€), and his use of the N-word as a non-Black man (“Who’s going to stop me? If I felt it was wrong, I would stop, but it’s not wrong, my [expletive]â€). Since being on house arrest, 6ix9ine has pretty much resumed his usual antics, making music videos, going on Instagram Live, and feuding with pop stars. His album TattleTales (yes, really) will be unleashed on the world September 4.