Post Mortem: Understanding XXXTENTACION
For those of you tapped into popular music, you probably heard about the death of 20-year-old rapper Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, better known as XXXTENTACION. While other Hip-Hop artists suffered deaths within the past year none have seemed to send a shockwave through the public in the way XXX's death has.
My introduction to XXX was maybe two years ago when he clashed, or "beefed," with Drake. At the time I had no idea who he was. All I know is I asked myself, "Who is this demonic looking young man?" I proceeded to Spotify to search for his music and was only able to locate two songs. I was so confused, how was this person even making headlines alongside Drake with only two songs available to stream?
As time progressed I found my intrigue in XXX growing. It was a combination of horror and disbelief. I was legitimately afraid of someone who I was never going to meet. In all of this there was still this sheer interest in how he amassed such a strong following. I found myself watching interviews to learn more about him. I was trying to cure myself of the fear I had for him.
Cue problematic behavior... The stories began to surface of him beating his ex-girlfriend and him boasting of beating up a gay man during his stint in prison. On the surface, without further investigation as to why he would carry out these actions, he became the demon he looked like. More of his music was released but I could not bring myself to listen because of the darkness that surrounded him.
Funny enough, there were rare moments of him on social media like the time he was dancing to 90's Dance music that made me see a light in him. Still, the darkness that surrounded him would overshadow that small beam of light. I was convinced that he was beyond problematic and turned my attention away from him completely.
Then this past Monday I saw the alert, "XXXTENTACION Shot..." before later reading of his death. I sat still for 30 seconds before I carried out another body function. For some reason I was affected, I felt emotion for a young man who I labeled as a demon.
Admittedly, I jumped on the death bandwagon. I became obsessed and watched all the reaction videos of his death. I went on Spotify and listened through to all of his songs via a curated playlist and then it happened...
I started to see him in a different light. I saw the live social media video he recorded of him wanting to leave a positive impact on the lives he touched. I saw he wanted to give back to his community. I saw a man who wanted to let the light permanently diminish the darkness that plagued his existence.
I have watched and listened to a handful of well respected music industry people respond to his death. While all of them mourn his loss there is a resounding opinion that in a way XXX spoke death onto himself. He was someone who spoke of death often in his music and spoke as if he knew his time on earth was coming to an end. While I do not want to say he caused his own death I am also a huge believer in what you put into the universe by way of speech has long lasting effects.
XXXTENTACION was a complicated individual. He made some terrible mistakes in his past but it took his death for me to pay enough attention to him and realize he wanted much more for and out of this world. It was so easy to write him off for his appearance and the things he did in the past. His mishaps were disgusting but I know one thing, had he continued to live, his impact here on Earth would have been monumental.
Before I conclude, let us not forget the music. Now that I finally listened to his music I can say XXXTENTACION made great music. It was getting better with each new project. He was developing a sound that was breaking out of the confines of traditional Hip-Hop. There is one song that hit me like a first love. This song is "I Don't Wanna Do This Anymore." The way he crafted this song, you can play this on loop and it seems like one continuous track. It is what I like to call a sonic euphoria.
Listen below...