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XXXTentacion killed in shooting incident
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 19 June 2018
Controversial rapper XXXTentacion – real name Jahseh Onfroy – was killed in a shooting yesterday. Police in Florida have confirmed that Onfroy died after being attacked outside a motor sports dealership in Deerfield Beach near Miami. He was 20 years old.
According to reports, Onfroy was approached by two armed men as he left the dealership. At least one of the men fired multiple shots at the rapper before fleeing the scene. The men seemingly took a Louis Vuitton bag from Onfroy’s vehicle as they fled, leading to speculation the motivation for the attack may have been robbery.
Onfroy initially built a fanbase for his music by posting tracks on SoundCloud, resulting in plenty of interest in him as an artist within the music industry. He subsequently allied with buzzy San Francisco-based label and distribution firm Empire to release an album and mixtape, before entering into a deal with Universal’s Caroline to work on future releases.
Along the way Onfroy frequently courted controversy, those controversies sometimes helping his career, and other times hindering it. Among various run ins with the law were allegations he assaulted a pregnant woman. It was the latter that likely resulted in Spotify deciding to remove XXXTentacion tracks from its playlists when it introduced its controversial hateful conduct policy last month.
Nevertheless, fans of Onfroy’s output – which included plenty of other artists – had high hopes for his long-term career. Many of those people paid tribute yesterday as news of the homicide was confirmed.
Among them was Diplo, who revealed on Instagram that he had hoped to work with the rapper on his next album. Diplo wrote: “This kid was a genius – a true artist. He made his own rules. He has his faults, but he was young and he worked so hard on his own self. He wanted to be better”.
The producer went on: “He texted me this weekend [that] it was one of his goals to get me and Skrillex to finish his next album. I invited him to LA this week. I was wondering if he was gonna come. He was gonna do so much more, he promised me”.
Meanwhile Kanye West stated on Twitter: “Rest in peace. I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here. Thank you for existing”.
A statement from Universal’s Caroline said that everyone working for the company “is shocked to learn of the tragic death of Jahseh Onfroy, professionally known as XXXTentacion. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones”.
More details on the police investigation into the shooting are expected in due course.
