A viral social media clip claims musician d4vd used coded language in a podcast interview to hint at the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The footage shows the artist discussing a music interlude built around a real recorded conversation, yet online commentators have seized on specific lines as eerie references to the teen’s disappearance and death. David Anthony Burke who performs as d4vd recorded the full discussion in March 2025 well before Rivas Hernandez was last seen alive on April 23, 2025, and long before her remains were recovered. The 66 second excerpt now circulating on platforms like X and Instagram includes no mention of any girl trying to ruin his career or having to vanish. Instead, it captures Burke explaining his creative choices for a project that features voice clips and narrative transitions.
Burke sits in a studio wearing a pink hoodie as he describes the interlude to the host. He states:
“That is a real conversation that happened. And the irony of it was that person that was saying I love you. I love you. She is not in my life anymore. So it is like people say that the string cannot be cut and the connection cannot be severed but I feel like it can sometimes.”
— d4vd, March 2025 podcast interview
He adds that he designed the project like chapters in a book with deliberate pauses to let listeners absorb each song. The host then asks about the interlude ending where the woman repeats I love you without a response from Burke. He confirms:
“Absolutely. Because the next song after that is is this really love.”
— d4vd, March 2025 podcast interview
Burke also notes that at the time of an earlier interview he had not been in a relationship. These exact words have fueled intense online speculation with users interpreting the phrases about a severed connection and someone no longer in his life as veiled admissions tied to the ongoing murder case developments in the hip-hop and entertainment world.
Prosecutors charge that Burke killed Rivas Hernandez at his Los Angeles area home to silence her about their alleged secret relationship which they say began when she was 12. He faces first degree murder continuous sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of human remains with a not guilty plea entered in April 2026. Court records establish the March 2025 recording date through the full unedited interview posted on the Mahogany YouTube channel. That timeline means every line Burke delivered predates the alleged crime by weeks making any direct reference to Rivas Hernandez impossible. Some listeners point to the interlude voice clip itself as potentially involving the victim though Burke has described such elements in his work as authentic storytelling tools drawn from various sources.
Public reaction to the clip has mixed fascination with the case against clear frustration over edited versions that omit context. The full conversation centers on Burke building emotional depth in his music rather than any personal confession yet the resurfacing has amplified theories about foreshadowing in his creative output. Investigators continue to examine evidence including digital records and physical findings while the artist’s legal team maintains his innocence. This episode illustrates how pre existing interviews can be reframed in high profile cases where public appetite for clues outpaces verified facts.
The situation draws added scrutiny because Burke rose to prominence with tracks like Romantic Homicide and a major tour before the charges. Rivas Hernandez family has pursued both criminal justice and civil avenues including asset recovery efforts. As proceedings move forward the verified dates of the podcast serve as a critical anchor reminding everyone that artistic expression recorded months earlier cannot logically reference events that had not yet occurred.
For more on similar high-profile cases involving rising artists and legal scrutiny, see our coverage of Lil Baby and 4PF RICO speculation in the hip-hop scene.
