6ix9ine Is Struggling to Make Ends Meet, Lives in Fear

6ix9ine is down bad, according to new court documents.

The controversial Brooklyn, N.Y. rapper is the defendant in a civil lawsuit brought forth by the victims of a 2018 robbery that 6ix9ine was present at. However, Tekashi claims he cannot cough up the money the plaintiffs are seeking because he is broke. In court documents first uncovered by AllHipHop and confirmed by XXL on Sunday (March 13), Tekashi, born Daniel Hernandez, tells the judge in the case, Judge John P. Cronan, he is not making money off his music.

According to 6ix9ine, his deal with 10K Projects ended in February and he hasn’t paid back his advance. “I did receive large advances under the recording artist and merchandising agreements prior to my arrest,” Tekashi writes in court documents. “However, I do not receive any royalties under those agreements either since my royalty accounts remained unrecouped. I have had to try to restart my career after my release from prison. I was out of the business for two years, which caused me to lose all the momentum I had achieved before I was arrested. I may never reach the levels of success I had before my arrest.”

Tekashi tells the court he is hardly bringing in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting a damper on his ability to make show money. “Right now, I am struggling to make ends meet,” 6ix9ine adds. “I do not know if I will ever command the kind of advances I was paid before my arrest, and my career stalled.”

He adds, “If the Court awards the compensatory damages and punitive damages sought by the Plaintiffs at this inquest, it will surely bankrupt me in a way from which I will never recover to the permanent detriment of the family members who rely upon me.”

The rapper’s accountant, Justin Kobay, lists the “Gummo” rhymer’s net worth at “technically less than zero.”

Tekashi also admits in the court documents that he is afraid for his life after turning against his former gang, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. “I will never lead a normal life since my cooperation made me a target for Nine Trey as well as other gangs,” Tekashi writes. “I live with that fear every day.”

Seketha Wonzer and Kevin Dozier were robbed at gunpoint in April of 2018 in New York City by members of Nine Trey, while 6ix9ine filmed the incident from a nearby SUV. The rapper and his crew mistakenly believed the two men were members of Rap-A-Lot records, with whom Tekashi was feuding at the time. 6ix9ine admitted he recorded the robbery but claimed it was his manager Shotti’s idea during his 2019 federal racketeering and firearms case, in which he worked with the government to help take down his former associates in the Brooklyn-based gang. In December of 2020, Wonzer and Dozier sued Tekashi. They are seeking over $5 million each in punitive and compensatory damages from the rapper for a total of $11.8 million.

Though he has performed a couple of shows, 6ix9ine has been quiet in recent months. He hasn’t put out music in over a year, with his last release being the single “ZaZa” in February of 2021. His 2020 album TattleTales, which dropped following his release from prison, under performed sales wise but did yield the No. 1 single “Trollz” featuring Nicki Minaj.