6IX9INE net worth: 6IX9INE, also known as Tekashi69, is an American rapper, social media personality and convicted felon. As of this writing, Tekashi69 has a net worth of $8 million. Tekashi is one of the most controversial rappers in the world, both in terms of his art and his personal life. In 2015 he pled guilty to a felony charge of using a child in a sexual performance. In 2018 he was arrested on racketeering, weapons, drug charges and conspiracy to commit murder. In return for a reduced two-year sentence, Tekashi testified against his former gang associates. He was released early due to the COVID-19 pandemic and placed under house arrest.
Early Life and Career Beginnings: Tekashi69 was born Daniel Hernandez in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York on May 8, 1996. His mother is from Mexico and his father is from Puerto Rico. He did not meet his father until he was nine years old. Up to that point he believed his father was not alive. In reality Daniel Sr. was a heroin addict who was imprisoned. His father would later claim that the mother’s family prevented Daniel Sr. from seeing Daniel Jr., going so far as to rip up the letters he sent from jail.
The family struggled financially, especially after Daniel’s step-father was shot dead on the steps of the family home in 2010, when Daniel was 14. The death caused severe physiological damage and required Daniel to visit a therapist to treat PSD and depression. He also started acting out in school around this time, getting expelled from school in 8th grade. After leaving school Daniel began working at a grocery store to help the family financially.
Rap Career: Daniel began rapping when he was 16 years old. An early break occurred when he met the CEO of a record label who came into the Brooklyn bodega where Daniel was working. That record executive, Peter “Righteous P” Rogers ran a label called Hikari-Ultra. Peter encouraged Daniel to began releasing original songs.
His first song, appropriately titled “69”, was released in 2014. He would release a number of additional singles that year. Over the next three years Daniel, who by then adopted the name Tekashi 6ix9ine, released a series of albums and videos that earned him moderate popularity in the underground rap scene.
Success: Tekashi69 released his debut mixtape Day69 in 2018. His debut single “Gummo” reached #6 on the US Rap chart, #7 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold. 6IX9INE’s single “Kooda” was also certified Gold and reached #29 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart and #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. His single “Keke” (with Fetty Wap and A Boogie wit da Hoodie) reached #20 on the US Rap chart, #22 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Reported Record Deals: 6IX9INE has used social media to brag about several different record and management deals. In January 2018, he claimed (in a now-deleted Instagram post) that he had signed a $7.5 million record deal. A month later he claimed to have signed a $15 million management deal with Birdman’s RICHGANG company. About a month later he claimed to have signed a $4.9 million deal to endorse a headphone company. According to several record industry insiders we reached out to, there’s no evidence that any of these deals are remotely real.
$10 Million Deal: In October 2019, Tekashi signed a confirmed record deal with record company 10K Projects. The deal is reportedly worth at least $10 million and will involve two future albums, one in English and one in Spanish.
GlobalStreamNow Deal: In July 2020 Tekashii announced that he had struck a $5 million deal with live streaming company GlobalStreamNow. The deal covers one virtual performance to be held on September 5, 2020.
Legal issues: Tekashi69 has been arrested on a number of occasions. In 2015 he pleaded guilty to a felony count of using a child in a sexual performance. He was given three years probation and did not have to register as a sex offender as long as he refrained from posting sexually explicit images online and obtained his GED. He ultimately failed his GED test. In July 2018 he was arrested on an outstanding warrant related to an incident where he allegedly choked someone at a mall in Houston.
In 2018 he was arrested on weapons, drugs and racketeering charges. To avoid what could have been a 47-year prison sentence he agreed to testify against a group of Nine Trey Bloods gang members. He testified over several days in September 2019. He testified that the Nine Trey Bloods Gang allowed him to essentially pretend to be a member as long as he bankrolled the group. He also testified that after the release of the song “Gummo”, he began earning an average of $60,000 per month from YouTube royalties and live performance fees.
In December 2019 he entered a guilty plea as part of his arranged deal with government prosecutors.
For his cooperation, the judge ultimately ordered Tekashi to serve just 13 months. The defendants he testified against are facing life sentences.
On March 22, 2020 he requested to be released early due to the COVID-19 virus that was spreading wildly throughout the prison system. The government did not object and he was released on April 2. He had been scheduled for release in August, 2020.
Release: On May 8, Tekashi released his new song “Gooba” and an accompanying music video. The video quickly shattered the record for biggest 24-hour debut for a hip-hop video on YouTube. Within 24 hours the video had 40 million views. The previous one-day hip-hop record of 38 million was set by Eminem in 2018 for his song “Killshot”.
Within a week “Gooba” had broken 150 million views.
That same day, May 8, Tekashi69 hosted an Instagram live. More than 2 million people tuned-in simultaneously, shattering the Instagram live record by more than 1.7 million.
Between YouTube ad revenue, Spotify royalties and other sources of income, Tekashi publicly claimed that he had earned $2 million off “Gooba” alone in under a week. He also announced his intention to donate 10% of the profits to charity.
