Rapper Kay Flock sentenced to 30 years in prison for conviction in shootings

NEW YORK — Rapper Kay Flock was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday. for a series of filming in his Bronx neighborhood, destroying a music career that was just beginning before his arrest in 2021.

The 22-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kevin Perez, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Lyman, who criticized Perez for sending the wrong message to his young peers by glorifying violence during a less than 18-month period from 2020 to 2021 that prosecutors said saw dozens of people shot, injured or killed on the streets of the Bronx.

“You mocked, you celebrated, and you contributed to the cycle of violence,” Liman said, noting that Perez bragged on social media about being exonerated of capital charges and wrote “KILL ALL THE RATS” on Instagram after a trial in which gang members testified against him.

The judge called Perez a “man of promise” but said a lengthy prison sentence was needed for four separate shootings that injured several people while he led a gang known as North Side/DOA. Perez was found guilty in March on charges including racketeering conspiracy and attempted murder.

Perez insisted that he had changed, saying: “What I was at 18 is not what I am today.”

Saying everyone deserves a second chance, he added: “I was just a kid. I didn't really know any better.”

But Liman criticized him for not expressing any concern for his victims.

“To date you have shown no real remorse for your conduct,” the judge said.

Perez was named R by Billboard magazine.&November 2021 B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month following the release of his first album: “The DOA Tape.” That made him a newcomer to the New York rap scene, which features gun-wielding artists and violent lyrics.

The music includes threats and taunts, a fact noted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick R. Moroney when he asked Lyman to sentence Lyman to 50 years in prison, the same sentence recommended by the court's probation officer.

“He was very good at glorifying his violence and hurting his rivals,” the prosecutor said.

Prosecutors wrote in their sentencing that Perez signed a contract with a music label and used violence to further his career.

“Music that glorified gang violence made the defendant famous and now rich,” they wrote, accusing Perez of encouraging violence through private messages.

Defense lawyer Michael Ashley, who asked the judge to impose the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, said his client grew up in one of the most dangerous areas in the country and was influenced by an older man who encouraged gang activity.

The judge said he took into account that the crimes occurred while Perez's brain was “still developing and maturing” and that six of his friends died from gun violence before he turned 18.

“I think street life is all you’ve ever known,” Lyman said.