XXXTentacion Digital Biography

GOVERNMENT NAME: JAHSEH DWAYNE RICARDO ONFROY

SUN SIGN: AQUARIUS

BIRTHDAY: JANUARY 23RD

HOMETOWN: PLANTATON, FL

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Floridian rapper XXXTentacion built his career off of being labeled rap's most controversial man. His short but impressive career is full of headlines highlighting both the greatest and worst moments of his life. His legacy is complicated, with some praising him for the honesty and realness in his songs dealing with his mental health struggles and others denouncing him for his long history of violence. Here is a look back at his entire career, life, and legacy. 

Early life

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy was born on January 23, 1998, in Plantation, Florida to Jamaican parents, Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy and Cleopatra Eretha Dreena Bernard. His father named him after the Bob Marley song "So Jah Seh'' which interpolates Ezekiel 34; both X’s father and grandfather were Rastafarians. XXXTentacion stated he also had Egyptian or Syrian, Indian and possibly Italian ancestry in an interview in 2017. He had three siblings and was mainly raised by his grandmother Collette Jones, in Pompano Beach and Lauderhill, Florida due to his mother's personal problems. In early 2008, when X was 10, his father was jailed for nine years in Arizona on RICO charges after the Drug Enforcement Administration organized a sting operation. His father was deported to Jamaica in late 2016.

XXXTentacion's interest in music initially started after his aunt persuaded him to begin attending school choir and later church choir, however he was soon kicked out after attacking another student. He was expelled from his middle school after a series of physical altercations. He was then enrolled into Sheridan House Family Ministries by his mom for over six months. He began to listen to nu-metal, hard rock and rap during his time at Sheridan House Family Ministries, which led to him learning how to play the piano and guitar.

XXXTentacion dropped out in the tenth grade. He described himself as a "misfit" during that time, citing how quiet he was despite being popular and regularly involved in physical confrontations. He said that he was insecure and depressed during his time in high school.

In late 2012, X was arrested for possession of 21 grams of marijuana, a felony in Florida law. He was sentenced to one month of juvenile detention and six months at a behavioral correction facility. Shortly after his release, he was arrested again for breaking into a house to steal a laptop in order to create music.

Career

X’s career as a music artist began in June 2013 after the release of his song "News/Flock". According to interviews, while in juvenile detention for gun possession charges, he met Stokeley Goulbourne, better known as Ski Mask the Slump God. Some sources interviewed for a 2020 biography dispute this narrative, and say that the pair met at high school. X and Ski Mask became good friends and began freestyling. 

That same year, following his release from a juvenile detention center, he and Ski Mask met up again to commit a string of home invasions. X ended up buying a Blue Snowball microphone and began recording music, which convinced Ski to do the same. After X adopted the moniker XXXTentacion, he uploaded his first official song, called "Vice City", on SoundCloud. The word "tentación" in his stage name is the Spanish word for "temptation". Speaking on his decision to abandon a life of crime for music, X said that he felt like music was a better outlet for his feelings and then-girlfriend Geneva Ayala was someone who helped him realize that. X eventually joined Ski Mask the Slump God's group Very Rare, before breaking off and starting the Members Only collective, which Ski Mask then also joined. 

In 2014, X was sent to a youth detention center for a year on gun possession charges. 

On June 22, 2015, X began to use his long-time YouTube channel "xxxtentacion", previously used to upload music, to upload gaming videos and vlogs. The channel has 32.6 million subscribers and 8.3 billion total views as of June 2021.

X released his first official EP called The Fall on November 21, 2014. In 2015, he released a collaborative mixtape with Ski Mask the Slump God, Members Only Vol. 1, before releasing Members Only Vol. 2 with several members of the growing Members Only collective. On December 30, 2015, the original version of "Look at Me" was uploaded to the SoundCloud account of the song's co-producer, Rojas.

Dylan Turner managed XXXTentacion and Ski Mask in 2016. Due to X’s inexperience in music and Turner's inexperience in management, they agreed that Turner would be paid only in the proceeds from the song "Look at Me!". When this amount grew rapidly, an angry X broke into Turner's apartment, stole his laptop, and stabbed his abdomen. Turner required emergency surgery and suffered life-changing injuries, while the loss of his work on his laptop ended his career. He pledged to drop charges against X if his computer could be returned, and stuck to his word despite all its files being deleted.

On April 28, 2016, X released the EP Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer, with a sound that was heavily inspired by heavy metal and indie music. In 2016, X quit his job as a call center operator due to his growing music career and moved in with rapper Denzel Curry. In July 2016, he was arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. After posting $10,000 bail, X continued to work on his debut independent album, Bad Vibes Forever, which had a slated October 31, 2016, release date. 

The album missed the release date and was delayed due to X being arrested in early October. After posting the bail of $10,000 in early October of 2016 while awaiting trial, X was arrested again on charges of false imprisonment, witness tampering, and aggravated battery of a pregnant victim. On March 26, 2017, X was released from jail on bail while facing charges of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The trial, which was originally set for May 2017, was delayed after his ex-girlfriend, the alleged victim in the case, asked for the charges to be "completely dropped" and declined to testify in court. X pleaded not guilty on December 14 and was eventually released on house arrest on December 20. He was released from house arrest on March 21, 2018.  In 2019, documents and audio of phone calls that X made to his mother from jail were released, in which it was suggested that his ex-girlfriend may have never been pregnant in the first place.

Shortly after being released from house arrest, a Snapchat video surfaced of X hitting a woman in 2013 when he was 15. According to TMZ, X intended to sue the woman for fraud and defamation after her family allegedly demanded a large sum of money in exchange for her silence. The woman later released a statement saying that the version of events described by X was correct, and that she "hope[d] that people see the video in the playful context in which it was recorded and nothing more".

In 2017 "Look at Me" gained traction and peaked at number 34 on US Billboard Hot 100 and the top 40 of the Canadian Hot 100. The single helped him gain popularity due to accusations of rapper Drake using a similar rap flow in his song "KMT". In an interview with DJ Semtex, Drake denied the accusations and also denied knowing X and said that he only heard about him regarding rumors circulated following the "KMT" snippet. X replied on his Twitter page requesting that Drake "come to Florida", after X saying that he won't "twitter rap with n-----". 

XXXTentacion's distinctive half-colored hair, which was inspired by The Hundred and One Dalmatians antagonist Cruella de Vil, also drew public attention. During his jail stint, X signed a deal to be managed by Soloman Sobande (who would remain his manager until his death) and despite X being in jail during "Look at Me"'s initial breakthrough, major-label scouts began offering six-figure contracts. He eventually signed for Empire Distribution for lower royalty rate, full creative control, and a smaller upfront payment.

After his release from prison on April 18, 2017, he released three more songs on SoundCloud. In an interview with WMIB, X announced that he was working on the studio albums Bad Vibes and 17; as well as a mixtape, I Need Jesus.

X announced his first nationwide tour on April 28, 2017. The tour, titled "The Revenge Tour", had 26 tour dates overall and generated much media coverage, including that of a rapper being assaulted, X being knocked out after an altercation on stage, an audience member being stabbed, X being thrown into a barricade by security, and X punching a fan. He announced the cancellation of the rest of the tour dates due to his cousin being shot on June 24, 2017, though the final tour date in Broward County, Florida, still went ahead and was later streamed on the watchthemusic (WAV) app.

X was named as the tenth pick on XXL's "2017 Freshman Class".

X released his debut solo mixtape, Revenge, on May 16, 2017. The mixtape consists of eight previously released songs. The collaborative mixtape, Members Only, Vol. 3, with Members Only, was released on June 26, 2017.

X’s first opener for a major act happened when DRAM brought X out at a concert on April 9, 2017 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles during Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. Tour.

X released his debut album, 17, on August 25, 2017. The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, selling 86,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. The album received a mixed response from critics, some of whom praised the album for its personal narratives and diverse musical style. On September 3, 2017, X announced that Bad Vibes Forever, his second album, was still in production. 17 gave X’s seven songs that debuted in the Billboard Hot 100. “Jocelyn Flores” became X’s highest-charting song since "Look at Me", which peaked at 34. X then had his ninth song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with his feature on Kodak Black's song "Roll in Peace", taken from Project Baby 2. The song debuted at 52 and peaked at 31, matching "Jocelyn Flores".

On September 12, 2017, X released his first official music video for his 2015 song "Look at Me", as well as sharing a music video with his 2015 song "Riot". X’s label, Bad Vibes Forever, signed a distribution deal with Capitol Music Group subsidiary, Caroline, on October 19, 2017. The deal, reportedly worth $6 million, was for one album only. Shortly afterwards, he announced that he was retiring due to negativity and backlash. On October 30, 2017, X announced that he would make music again if "former best friend" Ski Mask the Slump God was his friend again. They eventually ended their feud at Rolling Loud Miami in 2018.

On September 21, 2017, Noah Cyrus released her single titled "Again", featuring X’s vocals.

Before his death, X was moving into a 6,000-square-foot mansion in Parkland, Florida, which he bought in November 2017 for US$1.4 million.

X previewed new music on November 2, 2017, signaling a return to making music. He announced a new album titled Bad Vibes Forever on November 17, 2017. He said "It will be a mix of genres you have seen me dabble with, if you are not a fan of me this is not an album for you, it is for core fans only". On December 11, 2017, X released the A Ghetto Christmas Carol EP on SoundCloud. A day before his hearing for witness tampering charges, X announced that he was preparing three albums to be ready for 2018, and after being released on house arrest, he announced the titles of all three albums, Skins, Bad Vibes Forever and ?. 

Around January 2018, X entered a relationship with Jenesis Sanchez. Three days after his death, his mother announced on Instagram that Sanchez was pregnant with his child. The baby, Gekyume, was born on January 26, 2019, three days after what would have been his father's 21st birthday.

On January 22, 2018, X announced on Instagram that he and New York rapper Joey Badass had been creating a project together, and the two released a freestyle to the song "King's Dead" on SoundCloud on March 9, 2018, in preparation for the collaboration. The "xxxtentacion" YouTube channel uploaded the video "#THEHELPINGHANDCHALLENGE" that showed X donating musical instruments, video game consoles, and other gifts to a foster home. Shortly afterwards, X declared his album had finished and he was preparing to release it but would only do so after the hashtag #HELPINGHANDCHALLENGE reached one million mentions on Instagram.

X released his first single of 2018 on February 2, titled "Shining Like the Northstar". He was also featured on long-time collaborator and producer Ronny J's track "Banded Up". X released the song "Hope" on his SoundCloud account on February 21, 2018, dedicated to the victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which had occurred in Parkland several miles north of X’s home town. He announced that he was releasing two songs at midnight on March 2, 2018, both the first singles for his second album ?. The lead single for ?, "Sad!", was released several hours later alongside "Changes", which features fellow 2017 XXL "Freshman" PnB Rock. "Sad!" debuted at number 17, becoming his highest-charting song in the United States, and eventually peaked at number 1 after his death before releasing its official music video on June 28. "Moonlight" and "Hope" also charted after his death, peaking at number 13 and 70, respectively.

In February 2018, X posted on Instagram that he was preparing to return to school and went on to announce in March 2018 that he was going to a community college to get his GED.

X announced the release date for his second studio album, ?, on March 12, 2018. He shared the 18-track track listing with features from Joey Bada$$, Travis Barker and PnB Rock. ? was released on March 16, 2018. ? debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming X’s first number one in the country. Shortly following the release of ?, X signed a new album deal with Empire Distribution for his third solo album worth ten million dollars.

The music streaming service Spotify announced on May 10, 2018, that it was going to stop promoting or recommending music by X, along with rapper Tay-K and R&B artist R. Kelly. Spotify stated, "We don't censor content because of an artist's or creator's behavior, but we want our editorial decisions—what we choose to program—to reflect our values". The decision to remove X’s music from curated playlists was later reversed on June 1 after Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith threatened to remove his label's music from the service. 

Tragedy struck on June 18, 2018. At 3:56 p.m EDT, X, upon leaving Riva Motorsports Motorcycle & Marine Superstore in Deerfield Beach, Florida, was blocked from exiting, robbed in the parking lot by two armed men in an SUV, and shot multiple times. The shooters fled the scene in their SUV. X was pronounced dead at the hospital. His death was announced by the Broward County Sheriff's Office at exactly 5:30 p.m. Suspect Dedrick Devonshay Williams was arrested two days after the shooting and was charged with first degree murder without premeditation. In the weeks following the event, three different people were arrested for their actions involved with the event, including trigger man Michael Boatwright.

An open casket service for X took place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on June 27, 2018 where fans were allowed to pay their respects. His private funeral took place on June 28, 2018 where rappers Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty and singer Erykah Badu were among the attendees. He was entombed in a mausoleum at Gardens of Boca Raton Memorial Park, Boca Raton, Florida.

In his will, X named his mother Cleopatra and brother Aiden as the sole beneficiaries of his estate. His future child, with whom his girlfriend at the time of his death was pregnant, was not named in the will as it was written before the pregnancy.

His domestic violence charges, which he was awaiting trial for, were dropped following his death.

Posthumous releases

On June 21, 2018, the first posthumous song featuring X was released, "Ghost Busters", with Trippie Redd featuring Quavo and Ski Mask the Slump God. It was uploaded on Trippie Redd's SoundCloud. XXL released a series of freestyles that X performed as a part of his "2017 Freshman Cypher". Ugly God released a song titled "Tear Drop" on June 22, 2018, which featured X’s aforementioned unreleased cypher verses, as a tribute to him. A few months later, he won the Best New Hip Hop Artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards and won the Favorite Album-Soul/R&B for 17 at the American Music Awards.

On August 31, 2018, Houston rapper Sauce Walka released his Drip God mixtape which featured a collaboration with X titled "Voss" produced by Carnage.

On August 17, 2018, iLoveMakonnen announced a collaboration between Lil Peep and X titled "Falling Down". A reworking of "Sunlight on Your Skin" made by Makonnen and Peep, the new version features verses by X that he recorded after Peep's death to pay tribute to Peep. The single was officially released on September 19, 2018.

On September 27, 2018, Kanye West announced X would be a featured artist on his ninth studio album, Yandhi. The same day, it was reported that X would also be a featured artist on Lil Wayne's twelfth album, Tha Carter V, which was released the next day. X was featured on the song, "Don't Cry". A music video was later released on what would've been his 21st birthday.

On October 25, 2018, EDM DJ-producer Skrillex released the song "Arms Around You", which is a collaboration he made with X, Lil Pump, Maluma and Swae Lee. Lil Pump contacted X’s mother to ask to use his vocals on the track as a tribute. 

X’s first posthumous album and his third studio album, Skins, was released on December 7, 2018. The first single from Skins, titled "Bad!", was released on November 9, 2018. X was Lil Wayne's surprise feature on his and Ty Dolla Sign's track "Scared of the Dark" from the soundtrack album Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

On January 23, 2019, the Members Only collective and X’s estate released the album Members Only, Vol. 4.

On June 12, 2019, Craig Xen released the song Run It Back! which featured X on the track.

A month after on July 21, 2019, another posthumous song was released, titled "Royalty", which featured Ky-Mani Marley, Stefflon Don, & Vybz Kartel. It was the first song released from the album, Bad Vibes Forever, which was released in Fall 2019. On October 21, 2019, the song "Hearteater" was officially released by X’s estate as the second single for the album. On November 22, 2019, the title track of the album Bad Vibes Forever was released. The fourth and final studio album was released on December 6, 2019. In January 2020, Lil Wayne sampled XXXtentacion's song "The Boy with the Black Eyes" for his Funeral album, on the track "Get Outta My Head". On June 1, 2020, his song "Riot" was re-released onto streaming services.

He became the first artist to posthumously release music as NFTs with five unreleased songs on May 10, 2021.

On June 18, 2019, exactly one year after XXXTentacion's death, an official documentary on his life was announced; it will feature footage of X from around April 2017 telling biographical details. XXXTentacion has RIAA-certified sales of 38 million units in the US and BPI-certified sales of over 7 million units in the UK. He is also one of the Top-20 all-time best selling artists in terms of digital singles, with a total of 49 million RIAA-certified digital sales as of October 2020.

Musical style

XXTentacion's music explored a wide variety of genres, including emo, trap, lo-fi, indie rock, punk rock, nu metal and hip hop. His influences included Kurt Cobain, whom he cited as his biggest inspiration, the Weeknd, Tupac Shakur, Cage the Elephant, the Fray, Papa Roach, Three Days Grace, Hoobastank, Chingy, Gorillaz, Coldplay, Tech N9ne, and Eminem. When speaking on his influencers, XXXTentacion said, "I'm really into multi-genre things that aren't just based around rapping itself. I'm more inspired by artists in other genres besides rap." XXXTentacion as an artist has been defined as versatile and his music has been described as having a "lo-fi" aesthetic, being diverse and experimental, and drawing influence from heavy metal. His music also has the tendency to contain distorted bass and an "intentional lack of polish." Speaking about this, XXXTentacion said that the intentionally bad mixing on his tracks make it "genuine". Some fans have also noted that his music has inspired many up-and-coming artists, such as Lil Pump and Trippie Redd, into channeling similar aesthetics into their music.

XXXTentacion generally changed his vocal style depending on the type of song he was performing on. His vocal style has been described as displaying "emotional vulnerability" on much more depressing tracks and as replicating screaming on much more aggressive tracks. His songwriting has been described as outlandish and shocking, often referring to "violence, sex, and drugs," though on some projects such as The Fall and 17, X’s songwriting was more emotional in comparison to his previous work, often referring to loneliness, depression, isolation, and anxiety. He was known for his "depressing, and at times devastating" music that brought attention to mental health.

Personal life

X was public about his struggle with depression.

His ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala had accused X of domestic abuse. The first incident of domestic violence allegedly occurred when he slapped Ayala and broke her iPhone 6S, because she had complimented a male friend on his new jewelry. X maintained his innocence until his death. Ayala said that he would often guilt her with near-attempts at suicide. After his death, Ayala said in regards to those discussing her accusations against him, "It's disgusting that people are speaking for me."

X was public about his political and personal beliefs throughout his career. In 2016, he opposed the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump and had instead signaled support for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. His song "Hate Will Never Win" contains anti-Trump lyrics.

X said he believed that, "If weed was legal everywhere, the world would be a better place." He had also expressed his support for the legalization of gay marriage, and had worked closely with transgender musician Fifty Grand.

On Instagram Live, he told his followers that the video for his song “Riot” was not supporting Black Lives Matter, but was supporting All Lives Matter. 

During the Revenge concert tour, X had publicly declared his support for civil rights and gay rights, and denounced racist and homophobic rhetoric from hate groups such as the KKK, saying, "I don't give a f*ck if you're black, white, yellow, purple—I don't give a f*ck if you're gay, I don't give a f*ck if you're straight, I give a f*ck if you're a person... I stand for equality for all people."

Sources: Wikipedia

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