6ix9ine Bio
Daniel Hernandez, known professionally as 6ix9ine (pronounced “six nine”), Tekashi69, or Tekashi 6ix9ine, is an American rapper and songwriter. Born on May 8, 1996, in New York City, he first drew mainstream attention in 2017 with the single “Gummo” and the mixtape Day69, and went on to score chart success with tracks such as “Fefe,” “Gooba,” and the Billboard number-one single “Trollz.” His career has been defined by an aggressive vocal style, rainbow-colored hair, extensive tattoos, and a provocative public persona, alongside high-profile legal issues that have included a 2019 racketeering case, a guilty plea, and a reduced sentence after he cooperated with prosecutors. As of January 2026, Hernandez is serving a three-month term at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for violating supervised release, making him one of the most polarizing figures in contemporary hip-hop.
Early Life and Background
Daniel Hernandez was born on May 8, 1996, in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. He is the son of Natividad Perez-Hernandez, a factory worker and house cleaner originally from Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico, and Daniel Hernandez Sr., who is from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. Hernandez and his older brother, Oscar Hernandez, were raised in a church throughout their youth.
Hernandez did not meet his father until he was nine years old, and the two had only a brief relationship. His mother, by his father’s account, told him that his father was dead. His father struggled with a heroin addiction and spent five years in prison for selling drugs. Hernandez’s stepfather, who was also Puerto Rican, was shot dead steps away from the family home in 2010. After that murder, Hernandez fell into a deep depression, stopped showering, and began acting out, eventually being expelled from school in the eighth grade for bad behavior.
Rather than continuing his education, Hernandez took on various jobs, including working as a busboy. He attended Public School 59 for elementary school, Juan Morel Campos Secondary School for middle school, and Legacy High School for high school, leaving Legacy around the tenth grade. He also served jail time as a minor for assault and the sale of heroin before pursuing music full-time.
Path to Rapper
Daniel Hernandez first decided to rap in 2012 after meeting Peter “Righteous P” Rodgers, the CEO of the New York record label Hikari-Ultra, who walked into the vegan bodega where Hernandez was working in Bushwick. Rodgers suggested that Hernandez try rapping based on his appearance and cadence, and the meeting set the course for his professional life.
He began releasing rap songs in 2014, starting with “69” in August 2014, followed by “Pimpin” in September 2014, and “Who The Fuck is You” and “4769” in October 2014. The latter was his first collaboration as a lead artist, featuring two rappers from the Brooklyn collective Pro Era. Over the next three years, he released multiple tracks and videos with titles such as “Scumlife,” “Shinigami,” “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,” with “Tekashi” referencing Japanese anime, of which he was a fan, and “69” referencing both the sexual position and the yin-yang symbol. Hernandez gathered fame as an internet meme for his rainbow-dyed hair, extensive tattoos, and rainbow-plated grills, eventually becoming an associate of fellow New York rapper ZillaKami, the younger half-brother of Righteous P. The two later feuded after Hernandez discovered that Righteous P and ZillaKami were planning to sign a record deal with Epic Records without him.
6ix9ine Career
Early Career (2012-2016)
During his early years in music, Daniel Hernandez built a small but dedicated following across Europe, particularly in Slovakia, through tracks that blended rap with anime-inspired visuals. He established his independent brand through a steady stream of singles and videos, including “Scumlife” and “Hellsing Station,” which helped him cultivate the punk, rap-rock aesthetic that defined his earliest work.
He also faced his first major legal setback in 2015, when he pled guilty in October 2015 to a felony count of use of a child in a sexual performance. The charge stemmed from a February 2015 incident in which he had physical contact with a 13-year-old girl and later distributed videos of the incident online. Under his plea deal, he was required to obtain his GED, refrain from posting sexually explicit or violent images, and avoid new crimes for two years. He was eventually sentenced to four years of probation starting in October 2018, with a 1,000-hour community service order, but his reputation in the underground scene continued to grow during this period.
Breakthrough (2017-2018)
Daniel 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,” on November 10, 2017. “Gummo” was a sleeper hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on March 5, 2018. The success of “Gummo” was followed by the singles “Kooda,” “Keke” (with Fetty Wap and A Boogie wit da Hoodie), and “Gotti,” all of which entered the Hot 100.
During the “Gummo” video shoot, Hernandez met Kifano “Shotti” Jordan, a known Nine Trey Gangsters member and founder of the record label Tr3yway Entertainment. Shotti became closely associated with Hernandez, serving as his manager and bodyguard, and introduced him to other Nine Trey Gangsters members. The rapper’s debut mixtape, Day69, was released on February 23, 2018, and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart with 55,000 album-equivalent units. Pitchfork described Hernandez as “one of the industry’s biggest success stories of the year,” while The New York Times called his rise “meteoric.”
In July 2018, Hernandez released his eighth single, “Fefe,” featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz. The single debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 before peaking at number three, marking his first top-five entry on the chart and earning double platinum certification. His debut studio album, Dummy Boy, was released on November 27, 2018, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 behind Travis Scott’s Astroworld, despite generally negative critical reception. The album received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Notable Works and Milestones
Daniel Hernandez’s signature recordings include “Gummo” (2017), Day69 (2018), Dummy Boy (2018), “Fefe” (2018), “Gooba” (2020), “Trollz” (2020), and TattleTales (2020). His 2020 single “Trollz,” a collaboration with Nicki Minaj, debuted at the top of the Hot 100, marking his first number-one single, though it fell to number 34 in its second week, breaking the record for the largest position drop from number one in the chart’s history. In October 2019, he signed a two-album contract for over $10 million with his label 10K Projects, and he later released his third full-length LP, the reggaeton album Leyenda Viva, in June 2023.
6ix9ine Award Nominations
Daniel Hernandez, known as 6ix9ine, has received a number of industry nominations tied to his breakthrough releases in 2017 and 2018, when he became one of the most talked-about new artists in hip-hop. His commercial success with tracks such as “Gummo,” “Fefe,” and Dummy Boy drew recognition from Billboard and other major music outlets, though specific nomination tallies and categories are not detailed in verified sources.
6ix9ine Awards Won
Verified information about individual award wins for 6ix9ine is limited. While his chart performance and commercial sales earned platinum and double platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America, including for “Gummo” and “Fefe,” specific award category wins are not detailed in verified sources.
6ix9ine Family
Daniel Hernandez was born to Natividad Perez-Hernandez, a factory worker and house cleaner originally from Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico, and Daniel Hernandez Sr., from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. He has an older brother, Oscar Hernandez, and the two were raised in a church throughout their youth. Hernandez did not know his father until he was nine years old, and his father had a heroin addiction and spent five years in prison for selling drugs. His stepfather, who was also Puerto Rican, was shot dead steps away from the family home in 2010, an event that deeply affected him. On December 18, 2019, his father showed up to his court hearing after not seeing him since he was nine years old, causing the rapper to break down in tears, and his father told reporters he wanted to repair their relationship.
Personal Life
Daniel Hernandez is a Christian and has asthma. At 18 years old, he had a daughter with his ex-girlfriend Sara Molina, and he has another daughter, born November 19, 2018, with Marlayna M. In 2023, Hernandez began a relationship with Dominican rapper and singer Yailin La Más Viral, whose real name is Georgina Lulú Guillermo Díaz. By September 2024, Yailin La Más Viral was reported to be his ex-girlfriend, and in December 2023 she was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, on charges related to an assault on Hernandez outside his home. In September 2022, Hernandez became the goalkeeper of the Russian media football team GOATS.