Jacksonville rapper Hakeem “Ksoo” Robinson was found guilty of first-degree murder on July 31. But it wasn’t just the conviction that broke the internet—it was who helped prosecutors seal the deal: his father.
Yeah, you read that right—his dad.
The 26-year-old drill rapper, known for his affiliation with Jacksonville’s ATK movement, stood motionless in the courtroom as the verdict came. Jurors—seven white women and five white men—took less than four hours to find him guilty in the 2020 killing of Charles “Lil Buck” McCormick Jr. The entire scene felt surreal: Ksoo removing his glasses, shaking his head, and looking back at a family that had just been torn to shreds in front of the world.
And at the center of it all was Abdul Robinson Sr.—Ksoo’s father—who took the stand for the prosecution and pointed the finger directly at his son.
When prosecutors played dashcam footage of the murder, they asked Robinson Sr. to ID the shooter. He paused. Took a breath. And then, with visible pain, said: “My son.”
The 51-year-old has been battling serious health issues—diabetes, kidney failure, and heart complications—and said he cooperated with prosecutors in hopes of reducing a potential 60-year sentence to a max of 20. He also said he wanted to be there for his younger kids.
Robinson Sr. had previously defended his decision to testify in social media posts, writing:
“If it was me and my Daddy in a situation like this,” he wrote, “I would’ve been freed my daddy a long time ago no matter what my consequences would’ve been.”
He argued that he was trying to get home to his younger children and cited his serious health issues as justification for cooperating.
Ksoo’s sister showed up for him in court and made it loud and clear: she didn’t believe her brother was the shooter. “Hell no,” she said on the stand when prosecutors asked if the person in the footage was Ksoo. She described him as “fat, sloth-footed, two left feet” and “stocky and tall”—the opposite of what was seen in the video.
The tension ran so high that someone in the Robinson family got kicked out of the courtroom for livestreaming a witness who had specifically asked not to be filmed. The drama was too real, and the family was clearly at a breaking point.
After the verdict, the difference between the co-defendants said it all. Ksoo’s cousin, Leroy Whitaker Jr., turned to his father, who hit him with a thumbs-up and a forced smile. Ksoo, meanwhile, stared into the abyss—no fatherly nod. No words. Just the raw realization that his dad’s testimony helped lock him away for life.
Prosecutors said McCormick’s murder was payback for a diss track targeting Ksoo’s half-brother, Willie Addison. The shooting was part of an ongoing feud between Jacksonville’s ATK and rival crew 6Block—violence that’s claimed multiple lives in the city’s drill scene.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson summed it up like this:
“Five years ago, Hakeem Robinson and Leroy Whitaker stalked a man and gunned him down in broad daylight because of disputes and drill rap. Today, a jury held them accountable.”
Ksoo faces a mandatory life sentence for his first-degree murder conviction and still has another murder trial pending for the 2019 shooting death of 16-year-old Adrian “Lil Bibby” Gainer Jr. His father’s testimony, while reducing his potential sentence, has permanently altered their family dynamic and raised questions about loyalty, survival, and the devastating choices faced by families caught in the criminal justice system.
[…] it wasn’t just the verdict that sent shockwaves through the culture—it was Ksoo’s own father taking the stand for the prosecution, identifying his son in security footage. The emotional courtroom moment—Ksoo removing his […]