On Monday, the music world was shocked by the news that rapper and singer XXXTentacion had been shot dead in Miami.
He was just 20 years old.
Obviously, it’s always tragic when violence claims such a young life, but reactions to the death of XXXTentacion (real name Jahseh Onfroy) were decidedly mixed due to the tremendous amount of suffering her inflicted in his short time on this planet.
Onfroy spent his teen years in and out of detention centers for a number of violent crimes, and sadly, his anger didn’t abate with the onset of success.
He brawled with fans at his own concerts; he issued threats against fellow artists like Drake and Migos; he brutally pistol-whipped a man whose home he had broken into; and most egregiously, he allegedly beat, strangled, and tortured a woman named Geneva Ayala, who was pregnant with his child at the time
Onfroy was awaiting trial on charges of domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman at the time of his death.
Fans have defended his actions by pointing out that Onfroy endured an abusive childhood and seemed to suffer from mental illness.
Whatever the case, it’s not hard to see why many have been hesitant to either mourn his passing or celebrate his life.
Details of XXXTentacion’s murder are still hard to come by, and the suspect remains at large.
Thus far, we know that the rapper was shot outside of a dealership where he was reportedly shopping for motorcycles.
Police have offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of Onfroy’s murderer.
It is widely believed his death is in some way linked to one of the many violent conflicts that defined the artist’s young life.
Perhaps not surprisingly, despite his youth, death was never far from Onfroy’s mind.
After word of his passing went public yesterday, quotes from what may have been Onfroy’s final interview appeared on social media:
“If worse thing comes to worst, and I f—ing die or some s— and I’m not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids perceived my message and were able to make something of themselves and able to take my message and use it and turn it into something positive and to at least have a good life,” the rapper said
“If I’m going to die or ever be a sacrifice, I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy or they found some sort of answers or resolve in my life regardless of the negative around my name, regardless of the bad things people say to me,” he concluded.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.
