Revealing Secrets of XXXTentacion’s Troubled Childhood, Love Life and Death

XXXTentacion was one of America’s most polarizing music stars, with his personal life better known than his music career. In his lifetime, albeit brief, X courted violence and had an endless stream of brushes with the law, facing different domestic assault charges.

Often touted as the most successful artiste to have come from the audio distribution platform Soundcloud, the rapper was always in the news for a suspected crime as much as he had hits crawling up the charts.

He had his whole life ahead of him before his tragic death in a suspected robbery attack, in June 2018. The provocative artist seemed to thrive on controversy as much as art.

He often blurred the lines between shocking reality and button-pushing creativity. His short career was characterized by both in equal measure, making the Florida rapper a martyr to a legion of fans and a cautionary tale to so many others.

What was XXXTentacion’s Childhood Like?

The music artiste was born in Plantation, Florida on the 23rd of January, 1998, to Jamaican parents, who gave him the name Jahesh Dwayne Onfroy.

Despite not being one of the safest communities in America, based on FBI crime data, the city of Plantation in Florida has produced some of the nation’s notable people, including the chart-topper, XXXTentacion.

Though he seemed to thrive on controversy as much as art, he is often described as the most successful artiste to have come from Soundcloud. He had quite an interesting ancestry; Italian, Egyptian, Indian, German, and Jamaican.

Onfroy had a not-so-good childhood, an irregular upbringing, and inconsistent family that he said, drove him into violence (a trait that will follow him all the way). He saw violence as an outlet for his feelings and most of the time, he engages the trait to court attention, mostly from his mom.

His dad, Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy was absent most of his childhood, and his mom, Cleopatra Eretha Dreena Bernard was too overburdened with her struggles to give him the attention and upbringing ideal for a child. As a result, he was raised mainly by his grandmother, Colette Jones and spent his growing up years mostly in Pompano, Florida and Lauderhill, Florida.

Before coming to live with Jones, the rapper had already spent time in a juvenile detention center for stabbing a man who attempted to attack his mother at the tender age of 6. Like every other kid his age, XXXTentacion was enrolled in a school, Margate Middle School, but was on two occasions expelled for attacking a fellow student.

He moved on to Piper High School, where his indiscretions only multiplied. Accustomed to being embroiled in fist cuffs with students, he plied his trade, and soon, dropped out in the tenth grade.

While it seems violence was his mainstay, it appeared to be an outlet for depression and loneliness, which he suffered in high school. XXXtentacion’s repertoire of vices included armed burglary, armed robbery, possession of firearms, charges of grand theft, and oxycodone possession, among others.

Undoubtedly, X’s childhood was lined with violence and crime, but it also marked his debut into the large room of music. The culmination of his childhood was when he began writing music after being released from a juvenile detention center.

His Music Career and Rise to Fame

XXXTentacion Performing

XXXTentacion had his musical beginnings singing in school and church choirs. Then, his mother enrolled him in Sheridan House Family Ministries, where he further honed his music skills for six months.

It was in the residential boys’ home that he learned to play the piano and guitar while listening to nu-metal, hard rock, and rap. He would, however, seek a career in music after he was released from the juvenile detention center, where he was sent for gun possession charges, in 2013.

Finally, he was ready to ditch a life of crime for music, which he said felt like a better outlet for his feelings, although he would dabble into violence once in a while.

While in detention, the rapper met Stokeley Clevon Goulbourne, who performs with the stage name Ski Mask The Slump God. Both youngsters embraced music as an escape from prison life. He began writing music after his release, launching his career on SoundCloud. X uploaded his first song Vice City on the platform.

Going forward, he also used the platform to release teasers and full versions of his songs. XXXtentacion’s music, which is better described as emo-rap rather than SoundCloud rap was extremely dark and features themes of abandonment, loneliness, suicide, and depression. He soon became a popular figure on SoundCloud.

XXXTentacion’s Career Highlights And Achievements

The Florida-born rapper released his first official EP titled The Fall in 2014. XXXTentacion also founded the Members Only collective, and in 2015, they released two mixtapes Members Only Vol. 1 and Members Only Vol. 2.

That same year also saw the release of his initial single Look at Me, launching him into mainstream fame. The mixtapes were followed with the single Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer in 2016.

Look at Me climbed to number 34 on US Billboard Hot 100 and also reached Top 40 on Canadian Hot 100 in 2017. On August 25, 2017, X released his debut album, 17, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.

His sophomore album, ? (2018) reached number one on the US Chart. 17 and ? have been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

With over 1.68 million subscribers on Soundcloud, XXXTentacion told the story of a sound that began as a renegade movement and was beginning to find ways to re-engineer pop’s center.

His style of music is notorious for a disorder, deliberate poor mixing, and a disdain for music notes. His sound is a fusion of rap, hard metal rock, and a bit of pop. With his death, which came after that of Lil Peep marks the beginning of the unsatisfying, rapid conclusion of the decade’s most promising musical movement, which eventually came with the death of Juice WRLD.

X was shot dead by unknown gunmen in his car on Monday, 18 June 2018 as he was leaving a motorcycles store in South Florida.

XXXTentacion Fact Card

X’s Death and Posthumous Successes

Following his death, cops reportedly said they believe the incident was a possible robbery. Few persons were arrested days after his death, including Dedrick Devonshay Williams and Michael Boatwright.

Several memorials were held in his honor, with tributes pouring in from fans and other music stars. He was interred in Gardens of Boca Raton Memorial Park, Boca Raton, Florida, ten days after he was shot.

Even though X courted violence and crime in his lifetime which made him infamous, he became an even bigger star after his demise. He became a chart-topper and also released two other albums posthumously.

Moreover, he won several awards, including the Best New Hip Hop Artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2018 and was featured by top artists like Kanye West and Lil Wayne.

His single, Sad! moved from number 52 to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 one week after his death, making X the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 posthumously, since The Notorious B.I.G in 1997.

X’s first posthumous album and his third solo album was released on December 7, 2018. The 10-track project was titled Skins, and it featured the single Bad!.

As earlier mentioned, “?” peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 in March 2018 and reached platinum status after his death. In early 2019, the Members Only collective and X’s estate released another album Members Only, Vol. 4. His fourth and final studio album, Bad Vibes Forever was released on December 6, 2019.

XXXTentacion Had Tumultuous Romantic Relationships

From all indications, the musician’s personal life overshadowed his career. It was probably better known than his music and made him extremely controversial. After all, he was one of America’s most polarizing hip-hop stars. His life was plagued by several allegations of domestic violence, assaults, and armed possessions, among others. Ironically, his incarceration helped create his celebrity.

One of his excesses that got fans worried and talking was the way he rough handled his former girlfriend, Geneva Ayala. He dated Geneva Ayala, but the pair broke up under controversial circumstances, with accusations of assault leveled against him.

Ayala was, however, calming influence of some sort while they dated. X admitted Geneva was a huge factor in his decision to focus his energies on music rather than crimes.

Beside Ayala’s abuse, the rapper was also charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, false imprisonment, and witness tampering in 2016.

Although he was a cruel, pathological abuser, his struggles resonated with those of many of his fans and listeners, making him a sort of a mentor and a timeless celebrity.

XXXTentacion
Jenesis and Gekyume

XXXTentacion was dating Jenesis Sanchez at the time of his death. Shortly after his death, it was revealed that Sanchez was expecting their first child, a son. Gekyume Onfroy arrived seven months after X’s death, on January 26, 2019.

His family stated that Gekyume, which means “different state’ or ‘next’ universe of thought,” was specifically chosen by the artist for his firstborn son. It was only unfortunate that he was not there to name him himself.

Separating The Art From The Artist

XXXTentacion’s personal life was plagued by violence; he was unspeakably controlling and abusive. As a child, he stabbed a man who attempted to attack his mother. Also, in one of his stints in juvenile detention, X beat up his cellmate because he suspected him to be gay.

Not to talk of the various other crimes he perpetrated such as armed robbery, aggravated battery, and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The artist, it seemed, can thrash and assault for any and every reason. At the time of his death in June 2018, he was reportedly facing 15 felony charges.

Notwithstanding his demons, could we still acknowledge the fact that X was an undeniable talent who brought a fresh beautiful feel to the world of hip hop? Knowing that he was a violent abuser who supposedly didn’t deserve his fame, we still couldn’t deny the given that he was a young, troubled genius taken too soon.

Despite what we know about his persona, we could still choose to enjoy his music because the art is distinct from the artist. We can’t just deny the fact that despite not so good persona, X produced good art.

XXXTentacion appears to open himself up and pour his heart and mind into his lyrics until he has nothing left. Given that his horrific actions are unjustifiable, they were not important to teenagers streaming his music, or so it seems.

His fans would rather identify with the gentle, emotional, open lyrics which are resonating than trouble the memories of the deceased artist.

For those who have chosen to separate his music from his action, they would hear the pain of a troubled soul and the all-too-familiar price of neglect and deprivation. X’s undeniable musical influence will be looming large for at least the next few years.

Chike Echebiri
Chike Echebiri
A techie in the day and a writer at night with interest that spans across politics, technology and sports. I am a student of life whose major source of frustration is Arsenal’s inability to win trophies

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