{"id":143105,"date":"2018-06-19T07:51:57","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T07:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/xxxtentacion-the-troubled-talent-of-a-volatile-rap-star\/"},"modified":"2018-06-19T07:51:57","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T07:51:57","slug":"xxxtentacion-the-troubled-talent-of-a-volatile-rap-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/xxxtentacion-the-troubled-talent-of-a-volatile-rap-star\/","title":{"rendered":"XXXTentacion: The troubled talent of a volatile rap star"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>                                  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"XXXTentacion attends the BET Hip Hop Awards 2017 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater on October 6, 2017\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/F56E\/production\/_102103826_hi047552527.jpg\"\/>Image copyright                  Getty Images<figcaption>Image caption                                      XXXTentacion (L) was gunned down after leaving a motorcycle dealership in Florida                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"caps\">The life of US rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot dead outside a motorcycle dealership on Monday, was as grim and confusing as his music was compelling.<\/p>\n<p>Born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy in south Florida, he had a troubled upbringing that was often punctuated by violence.  <\/p>\n<p>His mother was a teenager when he was born and flitted in and out of his life. He was raised by his grandmother, family friends and babysitters - and once said he used violence to make his mother pay attention. <\/p>\n<p>&quot;I used to beat kids at school just to get her to talk to me, yell at me,&quot; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, he was fiercely protective of their relationship, once claiming that when he was six years old he &quot;bit [the] flesh out&quot; of a man who laid his hands on her.<\/p>\n<p>He was later expelled from middle school for fighting, but he soon channelled his energy and fury into music.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Controversial rapper shot dead in Florida<\/li>\n<li>Do rap videos glamorise violence?<\/li>\n<li>America&#039;s gun culture in 10 charts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The 20-year-old became the most popular artist in the genre known as SoundCloud Rap, defined by its languid, hazy beats and wide-ranging influences - comprising everything from hardcore hip-hop to grunge and indie.<\/p>\n<p>From the outset XXXTentacion&#039;s songs were visceral and abrupt. His breakout single Look At Me! sounded like it was being played through a smashed-up phone speaker - but he was also capable of disarming fragility and tenderness.<\/p>\n<p>On his debut album, 17, he talked sensitively about depression and mental anguish, largely forsaking hip-hop beats for acoustic guitars and smudged, sullen melodies.<\/p>\n<p>Rapper Kendrick Lamar was one of many high-profile supporters, tweeting &quot;listen to this album if you feel anything. raw thoughts&quot; - and the record peaked at number two on the US charts.<\/p>\n<p>                           Skip Twitter post  by @kanyewest                              <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>rest in peace \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f  I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here   thank you for existing pic.twitter.com\/QU7DR3Ghbw<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) June 18, 2018<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>              Report                          <\/p>\n<p>End of Twitter post  by @kanyewest<\/p>\n<p>His surging popularity was noted by the music industry and, by October 2017, he had scored a distribution agreement reportedly worth $6 million (\u00a34.5m) between his own record label and Caroline Records, which also represents Van Morrison and Chrissie Hynde.<\/p>\n<p>But the teenager&#039;s career was already being overshadowed by his legal problems, including charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation and, later, witness tampering.<\/p>\n<p>Onfroy laughed off the allegations in a profanity-strewn tirade on social media, calling the charges &quot;fabricated&quot; and pledging to donate $100,000 to domestic violence-prevention programmes (it is unclear whether the payment ever materialised).<\/p>\n<p>He also continued to court controversy, releasing a provocative music video earlier this year in which, to make a point about racism, he put a noose around the neck of a young white child. He later gave an interview in which he argued against feminism.<\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  Miami Dade County Corrections\/Getty<figcaption>Image caption                                      XXXTentacion&#039;s mugshot from December 2017                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fans were apparently unswayed by - or attracted to - the star&#039;s tribulations; sending his latest album ? to number one in the US. The album also produced his only UK hit, a desolate heartbreak song called SAD.<\/p>\n<p>The star&#039;s manager reflected that Onfroy&#039;s volatile life was what made his music so compelling.  &quot;He&#039;s just a young kid that was lost and needed a chance in life,&quot; Solomon Sobande told Billboard magazine last year.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;So much stuff around him touched my heart. I just came to the point like, &#039;I gotta help this kid.&#039;&quot;<\/p>\n<p>However, many found it impossible to separate his music from his actions; and Spotify briefly blacklisted Onfroy&#039;s songs from its service earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>His death in an apparent drive-by shooting will undoubtedly reignite interest in the star&#039;s all-too-brief career. <\/p>\n<p>New listeners will hear his pain and the all-too-familiar price of neglect and deprivation - but they should also take time to question why violence is so frequently used to signify credibility in music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Getty ImagesImage caption XXXTentacion (L) was gunned down after leaving a motorcycle dealership in Florida The life of US rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot dead outside a motorcycle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}