Jahseh Onfroy, better known as XXXTentacion, emerged as a highly controversial rapper in late 2017 and has remained in the spotlight ever since. Unlike most celebrities, who have to remain active in their career in order to maintain relevance, X has gone over four months without doing a thing and has remained in the center of pop culture. Shot dead in June 2018, XXXTentacion’s career has carried on a legacy that not many celebrities have been able to achieve, and his name continues to remain in headlines. Ever since his sudden passing, the rapper’s name has been kept in the mainstream. Although some of this is attributed to the release of some of his music and visuals post-mortem, most of his fame after death has centered around his image and the legacy he left.

Emerging in late 2017 with his Soundcloud hit, “Look at Me!,” the rapper blew up, and with this fame came several allegations of domestic abuse. According to Billboard, it was easy for the mainstream audience to gain this perception of him, as his song’s “abrasive sonics and similarly ugly lyrics [were seen] as the work of a violent, sexist narcissist — and the fact that it exploded in popularity following his arrest on a variety of domestic abuse-related charges only made it seem more odious.” As X began to take legal action and attend court for these allegations, he continued to work on music. He released two albums, “17” and “?,” where his sound shifted from a heavy-trap style of rap to more R&B and rock. “?” became the first Soundcloud-based rap album to ever hit number one on the charts. His songs off of that album, “SAD!” and “Moonlight,” began to race up the charts. Along with his shift in music, Onfroy began to clear up his image, helping the needy and even creating the XXXTentacion Foundation. “I think he was becoming a better person which was good and a lot of people realized that,” said Freshman Max Goldberg. Just as things started to look up for X, this was abruptly stopped on June 18th, 2018, when he was shot dead at a Miami motorcycle dealership.

Ever since his death, there have been several headlines concerning the rapper, the latest of which is a recording where Onfroy admitted to stabbing eight people back in 2016. His domestic violence charges have been dropped, however. Along with news being released that has further tainted his image, X has received great recognition from both his peers and fellow artists. Fans showed their support and mourning for the young artist, as “SAD!” became the first song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 posthumously since the Notorious B.I.G. did so shortly after his death in 1997. Artists such as Kanye West, Diplo, and J. Cole have taken to social media to pay their respects to the rapper as well. “This got me f***ed up. RIP X. Enormous talent and limitless potential and a strong desire to be a better person. God bless his family, friends and fans,” wrote Cole on Twitter. “I felt like he had a lot more to give,” said Senior Karin Eriksson. Along with receiving plenty praise from celebrities and fans, artists have also chosen to feature his unreleased recordings on tracks. X was featured on a track with Lil Pump, Swae Lee, and Maluma and can be heard on Lil Wayne’s “Don’t Cry.” X was also featured on a posthumous collaboration with fellow deceased artist, Lil Peep.

X has received recognition on his career in the form of awards as well. At this year’s American Music Awards, he was nominated for Best New Artist and won Best Soul/R&B Album post-mortem. He is also expected to be nominated for several Grammy Awards. According to Vulture, X’s reps confirmed that “he has been submitted for Best New Artist; “?” for Album of the Year and Best Alternative Album; “SAD!” for Record of the Year and Best Rap Song; and “Pain = Best Friend” for Best Rock Song.” Despite all these awards and praise received for his work, Onfroy cannot seem to detach his allegations from his name. After winning Best New Artist at this year’s Black Entertainment Television Awards, fellow musician Vic Mensa called X out for his history of domestic violence. According to Vulture, Mensa said the following to the crowd with Onfroy’s mother in attendance: “Domestic & sexual abuse are not excusable because you have talent or you are troubled. I vehemently reject the trend in hip-hop of championing abusers, and I will not hold my tongue about it.” Mensa received a lot of heat for what he said, with many claiming that it was completely disrespectful to him and his mother, and others commending him for his stance. Sophomore Mia Randall echoed both of these sentiments, stating, “I think it’s important for people in the industry to speak out against sexual assault because it’s everywhere with the whole Kavanaugh situation for example. It may have been the wrong time to bring it up, but I support celebrities using their platforms to speak out on issues.”

X’s career will always be tainted by his troubled past, no matter what music he puts out after death or what he could have done to turn his image around. In today’s society, there are several celebrated public figures that have allegations stuck to their name: Kobe Bryant, Ray Lewis, Brett Kavanaugh, Kevin Spacey, and most recently Cristiano Ronaldo. “I never liked him as a person I guess, but I kept his music and his life separate. You can like someone’s music without supporting them as a person,” said Junior Isaac Pak. There will always be lovers and haters of all of these people based on those who love them for their work or disapprove of them because of their mistakes.