XXXTentacion, the troubled 20-year-old rapper whose grim, often suicidal rhymes propelled him to the top of the US chart just months ago, was shot dead Monday in Florida in a possible robbery, authorities said.
The rapper, whose lyrics were filled with insecurity and his real life marred by violence, was gunned down in broad daylight near a motorcycle store in Deerfield Beach north of Miami, the Broward County sheriff's department said.
The artist whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. He becomes one of the biggest names in hip-hop to be killed in recent years after a slew of targeted slayings in the 1990s.
The rapper, who was born and lived nearby, was leaving the Riva Motorsports store when two armed suspects approached him, with at least one opening fire, the sheriff's department said.
The pair raced off in a dark SUV and are wanted by authorities, it said.
Sporting spiked-up dreadlocks and often covering his face with a black-and-white masquerade mask, XXXTentacion rose suddenly to fame more than a year after putting out the song "Look at Me!" on the sharing site SoundCloud.
XXXTentacion's success triggered controversy due to a past that is violent even by the standards of the rap world.
The rapper, who was expelled from middle school for hitting a classmate and whose mother kicked him out of home, has also been implicated in other violent incidents, including stabbing his manager and brawling with audience members in concert.
Around the time of his latest album's release, he was being released from house arrest as he awaits trial on charges of beating his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
The rapper, who was expelled from middle school for hitting a classmate and whose mother kicked him out of home, has also been implicated in other violent incidents, including stabbing his manager and brawling with audience members in concert.
His former girlfriend, in an interview published earlier this month with the Miami New Times, said that the emerging star subjected her to a summer of abuse in 2016 that included physical attacks every three or four days, along with threats of grisly sexual violence.
Shortly after a pregnancy test came out positive, the then girlfriend said that the rapper beat her for 15 minutes, injuring her so badly that she lost vision and vomited.
But his music found a critical following. Kendrick Lamar, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, heaped praise last year on XXXTentacion's debut album "17" in which he found a unique rawness.
Without any traditional sort of promotion, his second album, entitled "?," debuted at the top of the Billboard album chart in March.
Without any traditional sort of promotion, his second album, entitled "?," debuted at the top of the Billboard album chart in March.
