page_title: XXXTentacion
section_title: YouTube channel and ? album (2018)
hierarchical_section_title: XXXTentacion / Career / YouTube channel and ? album (2018)
caption_attribution_description: XXXTentacion outside Charles R. Drew High School for Miami Children's Initiative
context_page_description: Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Despite being a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal issues, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fanbase during his short career through his depression and alienation thematic driven music. He was often credited by critics and fans for his musical versatility, with his music exploring emo, trap, lo-fi, indie rock, nu metal, hip hop and punk rock.
  Born in Plantation, Florida, XXXTentacion spent most of his childhood in Lauderhill. He began writing music after being released from a juvenile detention center and soon started his music career on SoundCloud in 2013, employing styles and techniques that were unconventional in rap music, such as distortion and heavy guitar-backed instrumentals drawing inspiration from third-wave emo and grunge. In 2014, he formed the underground collective Members Only and alongside other members of the collective he soon became a popular figure in SoundCloud rap, a trap music scene that takes elements of lo-fi music and harsh 808s.
  XXXTentacion rose to mainstream attention with the single "Look at Me".
context_section_description: On June 22, 2015, Onfroy began to use his long-time YouTube channel "xxxtentacion" (now stylized in all caps), previously used to upload music, to upload gaming videos and vlogs. The channel has 13 million subscribers and 2.6 billion total views as of October 2018. On January 22, 2018, Onfroy 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" on the same day. The video included Onfroy donating musical instruments, video game consoles, and other gifts to a foster home. Shortly afterwards, Onfroy 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.
  Onfroy 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". Onfroy 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 Onfroy's native Plantation. Onfroy announced that he was releasing two songs at midnight on March 2, 2018, both the first singles for his 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 Onfroy's death before releasing its official music video on June 28. "Moonlight" and "Hope" also charted after his death, peaking at number 13 and 70.
  Onfroy announced the release date for his second studio album, ?, on March 12, 2018. He shared the 18 track track-list 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 Onfroy's first number one in the country, losing out with his debut album 17 due to Lil Uzi Vert's Luv Is Rage 2. Shortly following the release of ?, Onfroy signed a new album deal with Empire Distribution for his third solo album worth ten million dollars.
caption: Onfroy at an event for the Miami Children's Initiative in February 2018
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