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 Billboard Hot 100.

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).

[9] In 2015, Hernandez pleaded guilty to a felony count of use of a child in a sexual performance and received 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.

[10] Hernandez turned state's evidence against the gang and its members – whom he had associated with, provided financial compensation to, and committed crimes with, to gain street credibility, and further his rap career.

[17][18] Hernandez briefly maintained commercial success following his release from prison; his 2020 single "Gooba" and its follow-up, "Trollz" (with Nicki Minaj) peaked at numbers three and one on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.

Due to his role as an informant in the Nine Trey Gangsters trial, several major hip-hop figures and personalities have since condemned or ostracized Hernandez,[19][20][21][22] leading to a decimation of his public image.

[34][35] 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.

"[13] Throughout 2018, backed by his supposed gang affiliation, Hernandez engaged in numerous online feuds, "trolled" on social media, and generated controversies in order to increase record sales.

[65] In early October 2018, Hernandez was featured on the song "Aulos Reloaded" with French house DJ Vladimir Cauchemar and "Kick" with Danish singer Jimilian.

According to Pitchfork's Madison Bloom, the track includes references to COVID-19 ("They sick, been hot, way before coronavirus") and Hernandez's cooperation with federal prosecutors and testimony ("Tell me how I ratted, came home to a big bag").

[120] 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.

[125] At his sentencing, assistant DA Sara Weiss told the court that Hernandez fondled the child's breasts and smacked her buttocks while she was raped by two other men.

[123] Under his plea deal, Hernandez must obtain his GED, refrain from posting sexually explicit or violent images of women or children to social media and not commit another crime for two years, among other injunctions.

[124][7] On July 12, 2018, Hernandez was arrested in New York for an outstanding warrant related to an incident where he allegedly choked a 16-year-old in The Galleria shopping mall in Houston in January 2018.

We continue our daily work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and to vigorously investigate acts of violence committed by gang members.

When Hernandez met Elliot Grainge at the restaurant Philippe to celebrate a legal victory in his 2015 sex crimes case, Shotti and other Nine Trey members entered the meeting uninvited.

He was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn under general population before being moved to another facility due to security reasons, as Hernandez had multiple altercations with fellow prisoners, including those belonging to the Crips street gang.

[168] Judge Paul Engelmayer gave Hernandez credit for helping prosecutors send several violent gang members to prison and 13 months time served.

[171] On April 1, 2020 Rolling Stone obtained a letter to the judge from United States Attorney Geoffrey Berman saying that the government does not object to the release of Hernandez early on home confinement.

[172] On Thursday, April 2, Hernandez's lawyer, Dawn Florio, confirmed with XXL magazine that the court decided to allow the rapper to be released from prison and into home confinement.

[12] Accusations of domestic violence were detailed in early 2019 in a Daily Beast article that featured testimony from the rapper's ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Sara Molina, that he beat her in several incidents.

"[7] Pitchfork's Stephen Kearse placed his antics in the wider context of rappers across 2018 using "trolling" as a career gimmick, and would write, "Anyone who’s ever watched a Smack DVD, browsed WorldStarHipHop, or scrolled through Vine knows how hackneyed 6ix9ine’s flexing is.

[197] On November 11, 2017, following a series of barbs the two traded on social media, Redd was attacked in the lobby of a New York hotel and blamed Hernandez and his crew in an Instagram live video.

[209] According to DJ Vlad, Hernandez stated on social media that he had visited Parkway Gardens at 10 PM, but security footage showed him arriving and quickly leaving at 3 AM.

"[207] In June 2018, Chief Keef was shot at while leaving a hotel in New York (no one was injured), and Hernadez testified during his racketeering trial that he had ordered and paid for the shooting.

[215] In a later interview with The New York Times asking him if he inflates his streams "through bots or pre-roll ads or dirty marketing tactics", Hernandez stated: I'll say the same thing I said to Billboard: Who doesn't?

[219] Since his early prison release in April 2020, Hernandez has antagonized and been engaged in a number of feuds, with among others, Meek Mill,[220] 50 Cent,[citation needed] Anuel AA,[118] YG,[221] Rich the Kid,[222] Future,[223] Fivio Foreign,[224][225] Yailin La Más Viral,[226] and Lil Tjay.

[231][232] In the midst of his feud with Chief Keef on June 12, 2018, Hernandez visited Chicago's South Side and gave food and cash handouts to local residents.

[240] The start of the video states "In no way does Romantic Depot support Tekashi 6IX9INE's past activities", which include domestic violence and alleged sexual assault against his ex-girlfriend.