XXXTentacion: What We Can All Learn from the Rapper’s Controversial Career

By Sam Hwang

April 22, 2019

A name is a powerful thing. It embodies an identity. It forms the basis of our perceptions of a person. It allows us to summon someone to mind using only a few vocal sounds. Some names carry more power than others. Some are accompanied by emotions - awe, hatred, love, fear… Some names carry such powerful connotations that people avoid them like poison, spitting them out in disgust when they need to be spoken at all. The owner of one such name is Jahseh Onfroy, more commonly known as XXXTentacion, the infamous rapper who set fire to the world with his music, only to be snuffed out last summer at 20 years old.

XXXTentacion’s meteoric rise to fame has all occurred in roughly the past three years. He burst into the rap scene in 2016 with violent, bass-heavy tracks like “Look At Me!” and “#ImSippinTeaInYoHood,” established himself as a prominent artist with his angst-filled album 17 in 2017, and propelled himself to the top of the Billboard charts with songs like “SAD!” from his ? album in 2018, a sure sign that he was no longer just a prominent rapper, but a pop artist as well (Unterberger 2018). And yet, all of this was accomplished while the rapper faced serious charges of domestic abuse - and was even caught admitting to some of them in recordings that had surfaced during the trial (Coscarelli 2018). Upon entering the mainstream, music enthusiasts were forced to answer a difficult question: Was XXXTentacion a brilliant musician, or an abusive monster?

The most difficult part of the whole affair, of course, is that he may very well have been both. Regardless of whether the allegations against him were true or not (which may never be seen, as they were dropped after he was murdered in a robbery in 2018), it cannot be denied that some of XXXTentacion’s music (his earlier compositions, especially) were laced with misogynistic and violent ideals (Coscarelli 2018). For example, his first real smash hit, “Look At Me!” contains lyrics like “I took a white bitch to Starbucks / That lil bitch got her throat fucked,” and “You pull a gun on my mans / I’ll put a hole in your parents,” disturbingly graphic depictions that he yells with rage, and even a tinge of pride, in his voice. Of course, violence is not a novel theme. It has been used countless times before, and is sometimes even praised (consider Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” two of the most famous short stories ever written). The difference is that these stories are told from the point of view of a speaker, and it is understood that this speaker does not necessarily represent the author’s desires or ideals. Naturally, this same argument can be made with XXXTentacion, although it’s far more difficult, since the pairing of his voice with the lyrics, coupled with the disturbing allegations against him, makes the words… Not heartfelt, but perhaps a little more real than many are comfortable with.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of XXXTentacion’s legacy is his fan base, a pack of fiercely loyal followers who seem to either ignore his alleged charges of abuse, or acknowledge them and support him nonetheless. A glance at the YouTube comments section for his song “Changes” reveals the support they had for him - comments like “it takes more than bullets to kill a legend,” “he was so misunderstood and in the end he ended up being a very caring person despite his past,” “see you in heaven,” “I wish they could’ve killed me not you,” and hundreds like these can be found under almost all of his videos. But why did his fans view him in such a positive light, despite the allegations against him? It wasn’t simply because he was a talented artist. The fallout from the rapper’s death is so complicated because he seemed to lead a double life - or rather, he appeared to be in a transformative period before his life was cut short. The media often chose to focus on the negative aspects of his life - his criminal history, violent acts, and the controversy surrounding him… the “old” XXXTentacion, so to speak - without taking note of the positive impact he had on youths around the world, especially once he realized that he was no longer just an underground artist anymore. For one, in spite of the hypermasculinity present in much of his early music, X also brought the topic of mental health to the forefront of the rap scene by singing not about money or cars, but about his feelings, specifically feelings of isolation, helplessness, and guilt. In the song “Jocelyn Flores,” he sings “I’m in pain, wanna put ten shots in my brain,” showing a vulnerability that is generally considered uncharacteristic for the genres of rap and hip-hop. His music was his outlet, but it also allowed many of his listeners to realize that calling out for help isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness, and that one is never truly alone when it comes to struggles with mental illness. XXXTentacion later became known for his seemingly unrelenting, almost spiritual sense of positivity. In an Instagram Live video filmed shortly before his death, he stated,

If worse thing comes to worst, and I fucking die or some shit and I'm not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids perceived my message and were able to make something of themselves and able to take my message and use it and turn it into something positive and to at least have a good life. If I'm going to die or ever be a sacrifice, I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy or they found some sort of answers or resolve in my life regardless of the negative around my name, regardless of the bad things people say to me (France 2018).

Furthermore, XXXTentacion also dabbled in charity work, an admirable move considering how recent his rise to stardom was. He started the #HelpingHandChallenge, in which he spent time with and donated to foster children while encouraging others to become active in their communities as well. He also dedicated his song “Hope” to the victims of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a simple act which, according to one survivor, helped many of the other survivors cope while raising their spirits (How XXXTentacion's Death Is Impacting the Parkland Shooting Survivors, 2018). But his desire to create positive change didn’t end after his death. The XXXTentacion Foundation, an organization created to honor his legacy and to help others, has been involved in several generous acts, including providing the victim of a car crash with a $25,000 mobility device (Findlay 2018). Of course, none of this can erase the harm that XXXTentacion caused during his life, although it certainly helps to portray him in a more dynamic light - in spite of his sins, it seemed as though the worst was behind him, and he was, perhaps, on his way to a better life.

So where does that leave us? XXXTentacion was a musical genius who is almost single-handedly responsible for starting the steady increase in prominence of emo rap in the United States. He was also likely a domestic abuser. Should we still support him? While many articles may try to give you an answer to that question, it is far more accurate to say that regardless of your personal attitudes towards the artist, other people support him, loyal almost to a fault. Clearly, whether we like it or not, he was welcomed by enough of society to allow him to establish a firm position in the music industry, even after death. Some part of society longed for what XXXTentacion had to offer. He recognized that, and took advantage of it. So, while his sins should not be overlooked, perhaps we need to take a closer look at ourselves as a culture before we condemn him for his crimes. Many of the articles written about the late rapper are quick to cast stones at him, with titles like “It's Impossible To Reconcile XXXTentacion's Art With His Violent Life,” “You Don’t Have to Listen to Abusive Rappers,” and “Is it OK that rapper XXXTentacion topped the Billboard 200?” But perhaps, rather than a volatile anomaly, the rapper was a mirror. Perhaps he is a representation of the id of society, and we’re simply too scared to admit it. XXXTentacion was human. He made mistakes. In some respects, he seemed unremorseful. In others, he seemed to be trying to improve himself. Injustice. Refusal or reluctance to admit said injustice. Progress. Huh. Sounds kind of like America.

Bibliography

Coscarelli, Joe. “XXXTentacion Discusses Abuse and Stabbings on Tape Released by Prosecutors.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/arts/music/xxxtentacion-abuse-recording.html.

Findlay, Mitch. “XXXTentacion Foundation Helps Paralyzed Fan With $25K Device.” HotNewHipHop, HotNewHipHop, 24 Sept. 2018, www.hotnewhiphop.com/xxxtentacion-foundation-helps-paralyzed-fan-with-s25k-device-news.60487.html.

France, Lisa Respers. “Rapper XXXTentacion Foreshadowed His Own Death.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 June 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/06/19/entertainment/xxxtentacion-predicted-death/index.html.

“How XXXTentacion's Death Is Impacting the Parkland Shooting Survivors.” Mix 92.9, Mix 92.9 | Your Life, Your Music | Nashville, TN, 22 June 2018, mix929.com/news/articles/2018/jun/19/how-xxxtentacions-death-is-impacting-the-parkland-shooting-survivors/.

Unterberger, Andrew. “How Do We Begin Addressing the Polarizing, Problematic Legacy of XXXTentacion?” Billboard, 20 June 2018, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8461813/xxx-tentacion-complicated-legacy

Image Credits: The Atlantic