Tekashi 6ix9ine discusses testifying against Nine Trey in first post-prison interview

Tekashi 6ix9ine has given his first interview since being released from prison.

In it, he discussed the thought process of testifying against the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods gang.

The rapper – real name Daniel Hernandez – was released from prison earlier this year, having served a 24-month sentence after pleading guilty to nine charges including conspiracy to murder and armed robbery.

Originally facing decades in prison, 6ix9ine’s prison sentence was dramatically cut after he testified during the trial of Nine Trey members Anthony “Harv” Ellison and Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack, who faced federal racketeering and firearms charges at the time.

• Read more: The troubling rise of Tekashi 6ix9ine

In a new interview with The New York Times, the rapper gave a step-by-step account of how he ended up testifying against the gang members.

“We go to meet with the feds. They say, listen, do you know anybody that’s looking to harm you? Because at this point I’m not cooperating. There’s been a split, and they know it because they hear all the wiretaps.

“So Friday morning, I do the interview at the Breakfast Club. I know the feds are monitoring me, making sure no one comes to hurt me, but I don’t know why at this point — I’m pretty scared. I’m tired.”

He continued: “On Sunday, I went downstairs and I said, “I need to speak to your boss.” I’m ready to snitch now. The very next morning, they said, you know what, if something happens to this kid, somebody kills him, it’s on us. They took everybody down, knowing in the back of their head, this kid is about to let the whistle blow. The very next morning, I was in their office.”

Asked about any concerns he had following his decision to testify, the rapper answered: “Everything. I really want this to hit home: When I was kidnapped, was I a victim? Did I cooperate? No. When they were stealing money from shows, did I cooperate? No. Did I have many chances to tell the police what I saw? Yes.

“I was following a street code that was upheld by me and that I thought was real. Before I broke the street code, how many times was it broken to me? “It’s all about honor, loyalty.” Well, let’s talk about if sleeping with somebody’s girl is honor, kidnapping somebody is honor, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from them is honor, trying to kill them is honor. “Snitching’s not street!” But street is taking advantage of one of your homies?

Then asked if he regretted getting involved with the Nine Trey gang, he replied: “No. I knew what I was doing with Nine Trey. I knew what I was getting into.”

Elsewhere in the interview, 6ix9ine discussed his past history of abuse, how he’s “a true inspiration to the kids” and that “there’s no difference between me and Tupac Shakur”.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is set to release his new album, ‘TattleTales’, on Friday (September 4).