On Monday, the music world was stunned by the news that the rapper known as XXXTentacion was shot dead at the age of 20.
The controversial artist, whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy was leaving a motorcycle dealership when an unidentified assailant approached his car and shot him several times.
Onfroy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.
His gunman remains at large.
News of Onfroy’s death received a mixed reaction on social media due to the abusive behavior that characterized his life.
Many young artists have courted self-destruction, but few have behaved as violently toward others as XXXTentacion.
Despite his youth, the allegations against Onfroy are too numerous to list here.
The most appalling include his sustained, methodical abuse of his pregnant girlfriend and his near-fatal strangulation of a gay, whom Onfroy appears to have attacked for no other reason than his sexual orientation.
Onfroy often rapped about suicide in his songs, but his death almost certainly came as a surprise.
But that doesn’t mean it was totally unexpected to those who knew him best.
“XXXTentacion immortalized Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and wanted to die young just like them,” a source connected to the rapper tells Radar Online.
“He craved attention.”
The insider says that Onfroy’s primary ambition in life was to be talked about and remembered.
He was reportedly willing to do anything to achieve this goal including, possibly, dying young.
“He wanted to have people talking about him, his career and his potential just like Pac and BIG. He was that dude who didn’t give a f-ck about anything,” the source claims.
“He has no regrets in life. He was him and loved himself with all his flaws.”
The insider says that in addition to glamorizing suicide, Onfroy often instigated violent conflicts, seemingly with the intention of going out in a blaze of glory.
It may be quite some time before we have any new information about the identity of Onfroy’s murderer.
But those who knew the rapper best say they won’t be surprised if it was someone he knew well.
We’ll continue to keep an eye on the situation and update you as more information becomes available.
