In an all too familiar fashion, numerous young rappers have died young, whether at the hands of guns, drug overdoses, or health difficulties. Just look back to 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. in the 1990s, all the way up to Nipsey Hussle and Mac Miller in the 2010s.
On June 18th, 2018, Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, AKA XXXTentacion, the young rapper who was surrounded by swirling controversy from domestic violence charges to multiple jail terms, was killed at the tender age of 20 in his home state of Florida.
The emotional songs of XXXTentacion, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, began trending high on social media and Spotify and hit the music charts hard, from the United States to the United Kingdom, especially after he died. With the subject matter of his tunes revolving around suicide, loneliness, depression, and abandonment, strong parallels were drawn in the media regarding the close connection between his personal life and his musical themes.
In the Aftermath
To add even more anguish to his tragic death, XXXTentacion’s girlfriend announced she was pregnant just a couple of days after he was killed. His mother Cleopatra Bernard wrote on Instagram, “He left us a final gift,” along with an ultrasound picture of the rapper’s unborn child.
What sort of impact did XXXTentacion’s death leave on the world? Superstar rappers J Cole, Kanye West, Pusha T, and Future paid tribute to XXXTentacion.
Kanye West said: “Rest in peace I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here thank you for existing.”
Documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux said: “Notwithstanding personal demons, he was a huge talent & bringing a beautiful new feel to hip hop. So sad.”
Thousands of mourning fans made the journey to his memorial service after his death.
But how did XXXTentacion die? Lets’ look at what has been said to have occurred on that fateful day and who was involved.
XXXTentacion’s Shot to Death
Rapper XXXTentacion was followed by a Dodge Journey SUV after withdrawing cash from a Bank of America location. He headed over to RIVA Motorsports, a high-end motorcycle shop in Deerfield Beach, Miami, Florida.
After returning out of the store and into his black BMW i8, the SUV blocked his path by driving in front of XXX. A little while before 4pm, two men inside of a dark colored SUV blasted shot and murdered him in what appeared to the local county sheriff’s office as a robbery.
Police in Broward County said XXXTentacion was taken off to a hospital where he was unfortunately pronounced dead.
Responsible for XXXTentacion’s Murder
There have been a total of four men who have been charged with the first-degree murder of rap star XXXTentacion. The Broward County Sheriff Office has named them as Robert Allen, 22, Michael Boatwright, 22, Trayvon Newsome, 20, and Dedrick Williams, 22.
Robert Allen and Dedrick Williams actually followed XXXTentacion into the store, buying two black masks. The two men that shot XXXTentacion were Michael Boatwright and Trayvon Newsome. Both were masked and armed, and “demanded property” from XXXTentacion, according to Detective John Cucio.
Witness tampering- Witnesses to the crime revealed that Trayvon Newsome and Michael Boatwright took a luxury designer Louis Vuitton bag from XXXTentacion ‘s vehicle.
Dedrick Williams was arrested two days after XXXTentacion died in hospital. Nine days after the murder, Robert Allen was named as a person of interest, later to be arrested on July 26, 2018.
Michael Boatwright was also arrested by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on July 5th, 2018 and he was charged with murder five days later.
On August 7, 20-year-old Trayvon Newsome was arrested for his involvement in the murder. Newsome and Boatwright are the alleged shooters.
Police believe that Boatwright was the one who fatally shot dead Onfroy. The three men were later indicted by a grand jury, alongside a fourth, for Onfroy’s death.
Did XXXTentacion Predict His Own Death<
It appeared to fans that XXXTentacion foresaw his own sudden death in an eerie message posted online. It is not certain when the video was recorded.
“If worse thing comes to worst, and I f***ing die a tragic death 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…”
“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…”
“I don’t give a f*** because I know my goal in the end and I know what I want for everyone and I know what my message is. I just wanted to say, I appreciate and love all of you and I believe in you all…”
“Do not let your depression make you. Do not let your body define your soul, let your soul find your body. Your mind is limitless. You are worth more than you can believe. All you have to do is dream and all you have to do is want to fulfill that dream and have the strength.”
In XXXTentacion’s music video for “Sad,” which happened to be released after his death, the rapper was depicted as being in attendance at his own funeral. There was also imagery of him fighting his resurrected dead body, and also killing off his old self.
Billie Eillish Speaks on XXXTentacion’s Death
Pop star Billie Eillish spoke publicly about her friendship with the young rapper XXXTentacion after his murdered occurred. She even performed a tribute song for him and received backlash for it as well.
“I want to be able to mourn, I don’t want to be shamed for it…I don’t think I deserve getting hate for loving someone that passed.” says Billie Eilish.
For many loyal fans, it isn’t enough just to know how XXXTentacion died. They are more concerned with why he had to die so young.
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