Share
Bronx rapper Kay Flock, whose real name is Kevin Perez, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday following his federal case.
Perez was charged in February 2023 in connection with the killing of Hwascar Hernandez, who was shot and killed on December 16, 2021, in Upper Manhattan. Although Perez was cleared of a first degree murder charge earlier this year, a jury ultimately convicted him of racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, along with a firearm discharge charge tied to his federal indictment.
Before his legal troubles halted his rise, Kay Flock had been gaining traction as a drill rapper. His breakout single “Shake It,” featuring Cardi B, arrived in April 2022, roughly four months after Perez was charged in Hernandez’s death.
“Kevin Perez used violence and fame to fuel fear and intimidation across the Bronx,” said Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement. “Perez and his gang members carried out a string of shootings that struck both rival gang members and innocent bystanders. Perez also used his platform as a prominent rapper to celebrate his violence: threatening his rivals, bragging about his shootings, and taunting his victims. His brazen actions unleashed a series of back and forth retaliatory shootings that killed and injured far too many people in the Bronx.”
According to prosecutors, Perez was identified as a leader of a Bronx based gang known as “Sev Side,” also referred to as “DOA.” Authorities alleged the group engaged in violent acts against rival crews to maintain control of its territory, while also carrying out bank and wire fraud schemes that prosecutors say helped bankroll Perez’s music career.
Perez’s lawyer, Michael T. Ashley, did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Prosecutors also linked Perez to attempted killings that took place on June 26, 2020, August 10, 2020, and November 10, 2021. In a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office, officials said Perez released music that “glorified his violence, threatened more of it, and taunted rival gang members who had been murdered.”
While handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman said Perez had “taunted, celebrated, and created a culture of violence,” adding that the damage caused by his actions “was immense.”