A Guide to the Tekashi 6ix9ine Documentary Universe

The latest documentary on Tekashi 6ix9ine, Showtime’s Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine, follows a Hulu movie (69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez) and a Complex podcast (Infamous: The Tekashi 6ix9ine Story) about the controversial rapper turned snitch. The basic facts are well-known: 6ix9ine, born Daniel Hernandez, rose to fame in New York in 2015 and took off nationally thanks to SoundCloud hits like 2017’s “GUMMO” and 2018’s “Keke,” both of which have since been certified platinum. The appeal of Tekashi is only partially due to his music: The other half of the formula is his look, carefully cultivated and accented by “69” tattoos all over his body and face, in addition to long, rainbow colored dreadlocks that can be spotted from a mile away.

His gang affiliations with the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods (also known as the Trey Way Gang) gave him street credibility, but those relationships deteriorated due to a number of legal issues. First came Hernandez’s October 2015 guilty plea to a felony count of use of a child in a sexual performance for a music video. Then came beefs he provoked with rappers like Casanova and Chief Keef, which resulted in gunfire, and were also used as evidence in a racketeering case against the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. On February 1st, 2019, Hernandez pled guilty to nine charges. He faced a possible mandatory sentence of 47 years in prison, but less than a month later, a plea deal document revealed that the rapper could avoid jail time in exchange for his willingness to testify against fellow gang members in other investigations. He was eventually given a sentence of two years after testifying against the Nine Trey Gang, though he was released to home confinement in April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inevitably, the story of Tekashi 6ix9ine is told differently in each documentary, and each has interviews, footage or analysis that doesn’t appear in the others. What unique elements should you look out for when watching or listening to each of them, and which one is best overall? Read through GQ’s guide to the Tekashi 6ix9ine documentary universe to find out.

Hernandez believes his 69 tattoos represent the two sides of his personality. There’s a clip in the Showtime film from one of Hernandez’s IG Live videos in which he spells out how his first name, Daniel, has six letters, and his last, Hernandez, has nine. Get it? Spooky stuff. For Hernandez, 6 and 9 seem to represent flip sides of the same coin ― Danny Hernandez, the soft-spoken, kind boy, and 6ix9ine, the dude who did all types of gang related activity to up his street cred. Perhaps that’s how he justifies his horrific behavior. The Showtime series suggests that Hernandez’s downfall was due in part to losing the separation between his public persona and private life―his falling out with the Trey Way crew stemmed from his inability to separate his antics as 6ix9ine from the quiet, move-in-silence ethos of the gang.

His life philosophy―“the world is a game”―is caught on tape. One unique aspect of the Showtime documentary is the house arrest audio the filmmakers were able to capture, in addition to some brand new photos. A particularly revealing scene revolves around Tekashi’s comment that “the world is a game,” and throughout the film it’s clear that 6ix9ine became an expert at playing it. For example, Hernandez used the Trey Way Bloods to boost his street image, pushing members like Shotti and Seqo Billy to defend him from increasingly dangerous situations. Tekashi is like some dude weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly avoiding wreck after wreck, while innocent drivers who live by a different code total their cars and are then faced with a lifetime of emotional and monetary stress.

The ultimate troll. The Complex podcast tracks how Hernandez exploited our cultural obsession with trolls to relentlessly hammer his 6ix9ine persona into the mainstream. Throughout the series, host Angie Martinez spells out the various ways in which 6ix9ine would keep himself in the spotlight at all costs. Episode four, in particular, dives into his never-ending stream of beefs with other rappers. Throughout his time in the spotlight, 6ix9ine had issues with Ludacris, Chief Keef, Bhad Bhabie, YG, Vic Mensa, and more. Tekashi blurred the line between publicity stunt and actual beef, which made his security team struggle with protection.

Gang members testify against Tekashi on camera. While fairly even-handed for a film about one of the most reviled characters in modern pop culture, the Showtime documentary is filled with peers who have been wronged by Tekashi and are now finally given a chance to speak out against him. Disenchanted Nine Trey Gangsta Blood members who avoided prison because they caught onto 6ix9ine’s bullshit step in front of the camera to help flesh out the man behind the rainbow dreads. Seqo Billy is one of the stars of the Showtime documentary, explaining how 6ix9ine exploited the inner machinations of gang life for his own gain. In the Hulu documentary, Billy is framed more as Tekashi’s biggest supporter than the first to catch onto his bullshit―the music “was trash,” he says, but he was immediately drawn to Tekashi’s videos.

Did Tekashi’s bodyguard betray him? As Seqo Billy removed himself from the Tekashi 6ix9ine situation, another Nine Trey member, Shotti, became his manager, bodyguard, and assistant. He did everything for Tekashi, and he was the rapper’s last link to the gang. Each series dives into Shotti’s association with 6ix9ine, but the Complex podcast dedicates an entire episode to Shotti’s role and the abduction of Tekashi that took place on July 22nd, 2018. Tekashi was kidnapped and robbed by two Nine Trey members, “Harv” and “Nuke,” and while Shotti wasn’t implicated, the podcast asserts that Tekashi was suspicious of Shotti’s dealings. Specifically, the episode dives into Tekashi’s claim that Shotti was stealing money from him.

6ix9ine doesn’t have talent, and he knows it. In a quick clip from the first Showtime episode,Tekashi marvels that “UPS drivers have more talent than me!” When Nine Trey member Billy Ado is asked to name one thing Tekashi has done for the culture, Ado draws a blank. It doesn’t matter to Tekashi, though: He’s an entertainer, and, in his own words, a visionary. The Complex podcast also explores this phenomenon, often noting how Tekashi’s songs aren’t noteworthy in themselves; it's only when he injects his persona (through music videos, livestreams on Instagram, etc.) that his music grows fangs.

6ix9ine had to go to Williamsburg to get his signature rainbow hair. There aren’t many funny moments in this story, but in the Showtime series the mother of Tekashi’s child, Sara Molina, reveals that no one in their BedStuy neighborhood knew how to color Tekashi’s hair in his now-famous rainbow style, so the two walked to Williamsburg until they stumbled upon a woman willing to do it. The stylist, who appears in the documentary, refers to herself as “Tekashi’s Jewish mother.”

The murder of his stepfather was a turning point. All three documentaries point to the murder of Hernandez’s stepfather as a transformative event in his life. The Showtime series casts the tragedy as the moment Hernandez starts becoming 6ix9ine―it’s his supervillain origin story, the catalyst for his realization that the world is a cruel place and it’s every man for himself. The Hulu documentary treats the moment with a bit more empathy, using it as a springboard to examine how trauma can consume someone’s entire identity and shift who they are. The Complex podcast takes an analytical perspective, pitting 6ix9ine’s rough childhood against his trial and the moment his biological father shows up and disrupts the proceedings. His father’s arrival shocked Hernandez, and the podcast highlights how his lack of a paternal figure may have led to his “superstardom at all costs'' identity.

Tekashi abused the mother of his child, and her recounting of the incident is powerful. In one of the Hulu film’s most powerful moments, Sara Molina bravely explains how a night in Dubai turned violent and left her bleeding from her head. The story isn’t new, but seeing Molina on camera, pleading with the audience to view Hernandez as a terror, supplemented by videos taken the night of the event, paints a forceful picture of his violence and horrifying behavior. It’s a powerful moment that adds urgency to the film’s thesis, which is argued more explicitly here than in the other two docs: Tekashi is a villain.

The verdict: Which documentary should you choose? The Complex podcast does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for how 6ix9ine rose to fame, and how his gang ties eventually led to him becoming the most notorious snitch in hip-hop history. The Hulu movie is a more straightforward documentary, putting forth a set of facts and letting the viewer form an opinion. The Showtime original is heavily stylized and skews towards a particular angle: Tekashi’s soullessness will allow him to do anything for fame. If viewers are looking for the most immersive watch, the Showtime documentary is the best place to start. Sure, it’s a bit biased against Tekashi 6ix9ine, but then again, wouldn’t you be too?

Originally Appeared on GQ