Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman concluded an hour-long hearing by citing "troubling" corroborating evidence offered by a prosecutor to show that 6ix9ine directed or participated in multiple acts of violence over the last eight months.

Assistant US Attorney Michael Longyear said a backpack stolen during a gunpoint robbery in April was found during a raid at 6ix9ine's Brooklyn residence, along with an automatic pistol.

"The defendant is quite violent," the prosecutor said of a man whose debut album, Day 69, was among the most downloaded records on iTunes.

Longyear said 6ix9ine was captured on surveillance video as he sat in a car and filmed the scene in Times Square when his co-defendants carried out a violent robbery against a rival gang member.

The prosecutor said he was also part of a video boasting about shots recently fired by a co-defendant in Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Longyear also said the rapper was a threat to flee because of his worldwide connections, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and the knowledge that a conviction would bring a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years in prison and as much as life.

Pitman ordered 6ix9ine held until a Tuesday bail hearing, saying he was concerned about the danger to the community, particularly because the rapper could direct others to carry out acts of violence.

6ix9ine was among five people charged in an indictment containing racketeering and firearms charges.

The indictment alleged that he participated in the July shooting of a bystander in Brooklyn and the gunpoint robbery of one of his gang's rivals.

6ix9ine has been one of the most ascendant and controversial names in hip-hop in recent months.

The 22-year-old recently pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Brooklyn Criminal Court in connection with a May traffic stop.

In a 2015 case in New York, 6ix9ine was sentenced to probation for his involvement in a sexually explicit video of a 13-year-old girl.

Australian Associated Press