XXXTentacion

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fanbase during his short career with his depression- and alienation-themed music. Critics and fans often credit him for his musical versatility, with his music exploring emo, trap, trap metal, nu metal, indie rock, lo-fi, hip hop, R&B, and punk rock. He is considered to be a leading figure in the establishment of the emo rap and SoundCloud rap genres, which garnered mainstream attention during the mid-to-late 2010s.
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 soon became a popular figure in SoundCloud rap, a trap music scene that takes elements of lo-fi music and harsh 808s. XXXTentacion gained mainstream attention with the single "Look at Me". His debut album *17* (2017) is certified triple-platinum in the US and reached number two on the *Billboard* 200. His second album *?* (2018) debuted at number one on the *Billboard* 200 and is certified quintuple-platinum in the US. Its lead single, "Sad!", posthumously reached number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100, and had amassed more than 1.3 billion views on YouTube and 1.7 billion streams on Spotify by November 2021, as well as being certified Diamond by the RIAA in August 2021.

XXXTentacion faced a variety of legal issues throughout his lifetime, most notably the controversy that arose from the battery charges that were levied against him in 2016. His history of legal issues and alleged violence has been described by some as defining his legacy, while others have criticized the media's portrayal of him, arguing that his perceived improvements in character later in life have made his legacy into a tale of the power of second chances and redemption.

On June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion, age 20, was murdered when he was shot near a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The attackers fled the scene in an SUV after stealing his Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 in cash. Four suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder among other charges. In August 2022, one of the four men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony against the other three defendants in their trial. The trial initiated on February 7, 2023. On March 20, 2023, all three were found guilty on all counts. On April 6, 2023, they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

XXXTentacion has RIAA-certified sales of 61 million units in the US and BPI-certified sales of over 7 million units in the UK, bringing his total to 68 million certified records sold in the two countries. Since his death, he has won an American Music Award and a BET Hip Hop Award and received 11 *Billboard* Music Award nominations. Two posthumous albums were released, *Skins* (2018) and *Bad Vibes Forever* (2019); the former became his second number-one album on the *Billboard* 200, while the latter entered the top 5.

### 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 for the Bob Marley song "So Jah Seh", which interpolates Ezekiel 34. Both Onfroy's father and grandfather were Rastafarians. Onfroy was born with a ventricular septal defect, commonly known as a "hole in the heart". Due to his condition, he never grew taller than 5 feet 6 inches. Onfroy stated he also had Egyptian or Syrian, Indian, and possibly Italian ancestry in an interview on The Beat in 2017.

Due to his mother's personal problems, Onfroy was mainly raised by his grandmother Collette Jones in Pompano Beach, Florida, and Lauderhill, Florida. When Onfroy was six years old, he allegedly tried to stab a man attempting to attack his mother and was eventually put into a youth program before living with his grandmother. A source close to the Onfroy family denied that the alleged stabbing incident occurred, and it could not be corroborated by police reports, since Onfroy was a minor. Despite this, trauma and domestic violence experts have stated that it is unlikely that the story was fabricated.

When Onfroy was a child, he discovered his uncle's deceased body after the man committed suicide by hanging. Onfroy referenced his trauma from the incident in multiple songs. In 2017, Onfroy alluded that he had been sexually abused by an unnamed adult when he was a child. Other traumatic events that Onfroy witnessed as a child included someone being physically tortured and someone being raped. According to Onfroy's mother, he was routinely beaten by his father as a child; she claimed that Onfroy's father tried to hit her in front of Onfroy on several occasions. In early 2008, when Onfroy was ten, his father was jailed for nine years in Arizona on RICO charges after the Drug Enforcement Administration organized a sting operation. Onfroy's father was released from BOP custody on October 30, 2015, and deported to Jamaica in late 2016. In a 2017 interview, when asked about his relationship with his father, Onfroy sarcastically asked, "What's a father?"

Onfroy's interest in music initially started after his aunt persuaded him to begin attending school choir and later church choir. He was soon kicked out of the school choir after attacking another student for touching him.

Onfroy attended Margate Middle School, from which he was later expelled after a series of physical altercations. He was subsequently enrolled into Sheridan House Family Ministries by his mother for over six months. Onfroy began to listen to rap, nu metal, and hard rock during his time at Sheridan House Family Ministries, which led to him learning how to play the piano and guitar.

Onfroy attended Piper High School until he 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. As a child, Onfroy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Onfroy was not the athletic type and said that he was insecure and depressed during his time in high school.