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. 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.
In 2016, Onfroy quit his job as a call center operator due to his growing music career and moved in with rapper Denzel Curry. In July 2016, Onfroy was arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. After posting $10,000 bail, Onfroy continued to work on his debut independent album, Bad Vibes Forever, which had a slated October 31, 2016, release date.
Controversy over Snapchat video, false accusation threats, and defamation lawsuit
He met Ski in juvenile detention and founded the music collective, Members Only, with him. His breakout hit “Look At Me” was first released on SoundCloud in 2015, and then edited and re-released for his 2017 mixtape Revenge. X was truly gifted, as he was vocally open about learning new things. He was a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, audio engineer, guitarist, drummer, activist, and YouTuber. He claimed that his varied artistic influences range from alternative rock bands such as Nirvana and The Fray to distinguished rappers like Lil Wayne and The Notorious B.I.G.
Ayala said he used to fill a bathtub with water then fetch the microwave and dangle it over, threatening to let go. Another time he allegedly dangled himself from a 12th-story balcony by his legs and threatened suicide again after learning that Ayala had cheated on him during his time in jail. A witness to the incident stated that Ayala began to «box» Onfroy’s face after the incident, to which Ayala admitted, but said that it was the only time she hit Onfroy. In February 2018, Onfroy posted on Instagram that he was preparing to return to school. In March 2018, he announced that he was getting his GED, which he completed according to his death certificate, and going to community college.
XXXTentacion’s ‘Skins’ Reigns at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Billboard News
Newsome and Williams were sentenced to life in prison without parole. In May 2021, three years after his death, five of his unreleased SoundCloud songs were posthumously released as NFTs with the money being made going to his charity. The album was his shortest project to date and includes a sole feature from Kanye West. X’s final posthumous album, Bad Vibes Forever, was released on December 6, 2019, and highlighted many old X songs released solely on his SoundCloud or previously unreleased snippets. In an article for Vibe, while acknowledging Onfroy’s controversial history, Shenequa Golding criticized those celebrating his murder. Onfroy’s personal life and history are noted as prominent parts of his legacy.
The song, following its preview, was compared by users on social media to Onfroy’s breakout song «Look at Me» due to the use of a similar triplet-heavy flow. Before the release of KMT, HotNewHipHop revealed that Drake followed Onfroy’s account on Twitter. In an interview with XXL, Onfroy was questioned about the Drake comparisons, responding «If Drake is gonna take the flow, and I don’t know if he legitimately did, but if that is the situation, at least reach out to a nigga, help a nigga out in this situation.» His music also has the tendency to contain distorted bass and an «intentional lack of polish».
XXXTENTACION
On December 31, 2017, Onfroy entered a relationship with Jenesis Sanchez, which eventually became a domestic partnership. Sanchez said that in their relationship Onfroy showed changes in controlling his anger and would simply leave if an argument ensued, rather than ever being physical. Onfroy began saying that he saw his deceased friend, Jocelyn Flores as his «guardian angel» and that it helped him to make better decisions in his relationship. Three days after his death, Onfroy’s mother announced on Instagram that Sanchez was pregnant with his child. In an interview, Sanchez said Onfroy was notified three weeks before he died. The baby was confirmed to be a boy on August 22, 2018, and was born on January 26, 2019, three days after what would have been his father’s 21st birthday.
- The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, selling 86,000 album-equivalent units first week.
- Speaking about his decision to abandon a life of crime for music, Onfroy 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.
- Speaking about this, Onfroy said that the intentionally bad mixing on his tracks make it «genuine».
- Onfroy and his team responded criticizing the decision, pointing out that artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Dr. Dre, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson were not being censored despite more severe allegations being levied against them than the ones brought against Onfroy.
- In 2015, Onfroy released a collaborative mixtape with Ski Mask the Slump God, Members Only Vol.
Early Release! Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 October 13th, 2018 Countdown Official
- Onfroy’s music was driven on themes revolving around depression and alienation, becoming known for his «depressing, and at times devastating» music that brought attention to mental health.
- He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 13 and was re-diagnosed later on in his life.
- On April 6, 2023, they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
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, Onfroy’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. On June 21, 2018, the first posthumous song featuring Onfroy was released, «Ghost Busters», with Trippie Redd featuring Quavo and Ski Mask the Slump God, and was uploaded on Trippie Redd’s SoundCloud. XXL released a series of freestyles that Onfroy performed as a part of his «2017 Freshman Cypher». Ugly God released a song titled «Tear Drop» on June 22, 2018, which featured Onfroy’s aforementioned unreleased cypher verses, as a tribute to Onfroy.
On August 31, 2018, Houston rapper Sauce Walka released his Drip God mixtape which featured a collaboration with Onfroy titled «Voss» produced by Carnage. On August 17, 2018, iLoveMakonnen announced a collaboration between Lil Peep and Onfroy titled «Falling Down». A reworking of «Sunlight on Your Skin» made by Makonnen and Peep, the new version features verses by Onfroy that he recorded after Peep’s death to pay tribute to Peep. On September 27, 2018, Kanye West announced Onfroy would’ve been a featured artist on his cancelled ninth studio album, Yandhi. The same day, it was reported that Onfroy will also be a featured artist on Lil Wayne’s twelfth album, Tha Carter V, which was released the next day.
Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, Robert Allen and Trayvon Newsome were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Onfroy’s killing. On August 12, 2022, Allen pled guilty of second-degree murder in exchange for testimony against the other three. Allen was sentenced to 7 years in prison with credit for time served, as well as 20 years probation when he is released.
Incidents at concerts
A music video was later released on what would’ve been Onfroy’s 21st birthday. 17 gave Onfroy’s seven songs—»Jocelyn Flores», «Revenge», «Fuck Love», «Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares», «Depression & Obsession», «Save Me», and «Carry On»—that debuted in the Billboard Hot 100 at number 31, 77, 41, 54, 91, 94 and 95, respectively. Jocelyn Flores became Onfroy’s highest-charting song since «Look at Me», which peaked it at 34. Onfroy then had his ninth song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, in turn with his being featured on Kodak Black’s song «Roll in Peace», taken from Project Baby 2.
An unfinished version of The Nobody’s was released on July 11, 2014, but it was quickly removed when Onfroy decided to keep working on it before re-releasing this EP completely finished, but it never happened. In 2015, Onfroy released a collaborative mixtape with Ski Mask the Slump God, Members Only Vol. On December 31, 2015, the original version of «Look at Me» was uploaded to the SoundCloud account of the song’s co-producer, Rojas. Onfroy 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 xxxcion 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 five.
Onfroy announced on Instagram that the fight was purely self-defense before any video of the altercation was uploaded. The music streaming service Spotify announced on May 10, 2018, that it was going to stop promoting or recommending music by Onfroy, Tay-K, and R. 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». Onfroy and his team responded criticizing the decision, pointing out that artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Dr. Dre, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson were not being censored despite more severe allegations being levied against them than the ones brought against Onfroy. The decision to remove Onfroy’s music from curated playlists was later reversed after Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith threatened to remove his label’s music from the service.
Onfroy 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. In 2013, he recorded the song «Vice City» which was the first song he released on SoundCloud.
Its singles «Sad!», «Changes» and «Moonlight» all reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion (/ˌɛksˌɛksˌɛksˌtɛntɒˈsjoʊn/) (sometimes stylized as xxxtentacion or XXXTENTACION and referred to colloquially as X), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. On June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion’s life was cut short when he was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in Florida.