Rapper XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Deerfield Beach, Florida June 19th as he exited a car dealership. He was gunned down by two men who stole a Louis Vuitton bag and fled in a black truck. The news was shocking. The visuals on social media of the rapper’s limp body were nauseating. Celebrities and fans alike poured out their condolences and emotions online and elsewhere. So many questions went through my head and little answers. As of now, there still is no word on the shooter, or shooters. The only thing we do know is 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy is gone and his future was cut short.
XXXTentacion’s short life is a complicated one. He was raised as a single child by his grandmother and dealt with bouts of depression. He was awaiting trial on charges that he allegedly beat his pregnant girlfriend. On several other occasions, XXXTentacion is accused of assaulting and choking girlfriends of his and threatening them. In May, Apple and Spotify removed the rapper’s music from their curated playlists for their anti-hate policies, only to add them back after backlash. Despite all of this, as serious as his transgressions were, XXXTentacion did not deserve to die. Without a doubt, this young man from Florida was troubled, but there were signs that he was moving toward a happier and peaceful place. He made music for a lot of people dealing with depression and self-doubt. He spoke to his fans through lyrics as if they were his friend. XXXTentacion even had a charity event planned for his community on Saturday, but he will never be able to make that and everything else he had planned come to fruition. It pains me to see so many people dismiss his life as people have dismissed the lives of other young people of color before. Yes, he had his many wrongs, but he had a lot more time to try and get things right. Could he do better? Yes. Could he get worse? Yes, too. Singer Jidena had a great point to make of what his life meant and why he didn’t deserve to die.
XXXTentacion showed promise like a lot of young people in the world. XXXTentacion also had his own demons he was fighting like a lot of young people in the world. The biggest different is that XXXTentacion only got to live out 20 years of his life and that is what he will be judged by, not the time he never had the opportunity to see.
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Marquise Francislives by one word: achievement. in anything and everything, achieve. Archives
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