The 50-Year Irony: How Kay Flock Beat the Murder Charge Only to Have His Own Instagram Post Be Used to Demand a Life-Altering Sentence in a Landmark RICO Case

At just 21 years old, Kevin Perez, globally known as the explosive force behind the Bronx drill scene, Kay Flock, has stood on the precipice of both unimaginable fame and total devastation. His story is not merely one of crime and punishment; it is a profound, chilling narrative about the collision between artistic expression and the criminal justice system in the modern digital age. Today, as he awaits a sentence that could demand half a century of his life, the central irony of his trial is laid bare: he successfully fought off the top murder charge that carried a mandatory life sentence, only to have his post-verdict celebration—a single, defiant Instagram caption—become the prosecution’s ultimate weapon in demanding he be locked away until he is 71.

This is the unprecedented reality of a RICO case that has redefined the legal vulnerability of young artists everywhere.

The Meteoric Rise of a Bronx Voice

Born in the heart of the Bronx, New York City, Kevin Perez was shaped by an environment he himself described as dangerous. By 2020, he had found his outlet in drill music, bringing a chaotic, relentless, and fiercely authentic sound to the genre. Under the moniker Kay Flock, his ascent was meteoric. Singles like “FTO,” “Opspotter,” and the track that would define his early career, “Shake It” featuring Cardi B and Fivio Foreign, propelled him from neighborhood fame to national charts.

In November 2021, his debut mixtape, The DOA Tape, peaked on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and the magazine itself named him their Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month. He was 18 years old, and the industry was at his feet. His music connected because it felt real, directly pulled from the streets he walked. What the world saw as raw artistry, however, law enforcement began to view as a criminal confession.

The Shot That Changed Everything

The music and the street life converged violently on December 16, 2021. On that cold Thursday morning, outside a barbershop in Harlem, Kay Flock encountered 24-year-old Oscar “Hascar” Hernandez. Following a brief argument, a fatal shot was fired. Kay Flock surrendered a week later, charged with murder.

While his defense team, led by attorney Scott Leman, immediately contested the police narrative, claiming the surveillance footage showed Hernandez approaching Kay Flock—not the other way around—the legal battle was initially confined to the state level. The defense framed the shooting as an act of self-defense, a tragic moment in a life-or-death situation.

But in February 2023, the case became exponentially worse. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a federal indictment, pivoting the entire prosecution from a single act of violence to a massive pattern of alleged criminal enterprise. Kay Flock, along with seven others, was charged with federal racketeering under the notorious RICO Act. The Hernandez murder was no longer an isolated incident; it was now a single thread in a larger tapestry of alleged gang activity.

RICO, Rap, and the Weaponized Algorithm

The federal government was now treating Kay Flock not just as a murder suspect, but as a principal leader of the SevSide/DOA street gang, accused of wide-ranging crimes including robberies, multiple shootings, and complex financial fraud schemes.

To make the RICO charge stick, prosecutors had to prove that Kay Flock’s music and rising career were not separate from, but integral to, the criminal enterprise. This is where the case truly became a landmark. The prosecution went far beyond traditional evidence, transforming modern media into a crime scene.

• Lyrics as Confessions: His rap lyrics, which described street life, conflict, and violence, were presented as explicit admissions of guilt and detailing of illegal acts.

• Music Videos as Evidence: His music video for “Who Really Bugging” was entered as evidence, with prosecutors arguing it directly depicted and referenced actual shooting incidents.

• Social Media as a Recruiting Tool: In a devastating legal maneuver, prosecutors argued that Kay Flock’s Instagram posts, captions, and the very success of his account were part of a scheme to recruit co-conspirators for fraud. They suggested his growing follower count—fueled by his music—was simply a wider net for criminal recruitment.

This strategy introduced a terrifying precedent: the tools of modern music promotion—engagement metrics, hashtags, and viral success—were reframed as the building blocks of a criminal conspiracy. The defense, led by Jeffrey Lickman, vigorously argued that the case was not about Kevin Perez the person, but “US versus drill rap,” criminalizing artistic expression.

The Acquittal and the Fatal Caption

The trial, beginning in March 2025, attracted global attention. After weeks of testimony, including a cooperating witness who claimed Kay Flock retaliated on his behalf after a shooting, the jury returned a split verdict on March 20, 2025.

The jury found Kay Flock Guilty on multiple counts, including racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder, and firearm offenses. Crucially, however, they delivered a stunning Acquittal on the most severe count: murder in aid of racketeering for the killing of Wascar Hernandez. The jury accepted the defense’s argument that the December 2021 shooting was an act of self-defense. By beating the murder charge, Kay Flock had successfully navigated the legal gauntlet that would have automatically sentenced him to life behind bars.

The moment of relief was tragically short-lived. Almost immediately after the verdict was read, Kay Flock took to Instagram and posted a celebratory, yet inflammatory, message: “I beat the top count i made the judge cry kill all rats.”

To his loyal fanbase, it was a defiant statement of victory against a system designed to bury him. To federal prosecutors, it was the final nail in the coffin.

The Maximum Punishment: A 50-Year Demand

In their sentencing recommendation to Judge Lewis J. Liman, federal prosecutors cited that single, boastful Instagram post as paramount evidence for their brutal demand: a 50-year federal prison sentence.

The government argued that the post demonstrated a “complete disregard for the law,” a lack of remorse, and a continued willingness to threaten potential witnesses, even after being convicted on multiple serious felonies. They painted a picture of a young man who, despite everything, had learned nothing and would continue to glorify the very behavior that landed him in the crosshairs of the federal government.

The 50-year recommendation—20 years for each of the two racketeering and assault counts, plus 10 years for the firearms charge—means that Kay Flock, currently 21, would be an elderly man of 71 before he would be eligible for release. This penalty, demanded specifically after he was acquitted of murder, hinges on the argument that his social media persona and his willingness to defy authority are greater threats to society than the murder itself.

The Chilling Implications for a Generation

Kay Flock’s case is a stark and terrifying warning. Across the country, federal prosecutors have increasingly utilized the RICO Act to dismantle street-affiliated rap scenes, from Young Thug’s YSL case in Atlanta to indictments against prominent figures in the Brooklyn drill scene like Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow.

The common, chilling thread is the blurring of the line between artistic performance and criminal evidence. For a generation of artists who built their careers on authenticity and documenting the realities of their environment, the legal message is clear: your bars can and will be used to put you behind bars. If the legal theory that social media engagement is a mechanism for criminal recruitment gains traction, it fundamentally threatens the careers of every artist who uses their platform to speak about street life.

Kay Flock’s initial victory—the self-defense acquittal—is now overshadowed by a colossal fifty-year demand. As he sits in federal custody awaiting the final judgment on December 16, 2025, four years to the day after the shooting that started it all, the music industry watches with bated breath. This case is not just about the fate of one young rapper; it is about the future of artistic freedom, and the chilling consequences of a world where everything you post online truly does live forever.