Rapper XXXTentacion was shot and killed Monday in Florida by an unidentified gunman who fled the scene, the Broward County sheriff’s office has confirmed.
The 20-year-old musician was leaving a Deerfield Beach, Fla., motorcycle dealership in a black BMW when he was approached by the shooter, who allegedly nabbed a Louis Vuitton bag from the vehicle.
A witness told the gossip site that the rapper, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, appeared “lifeless with no pulse.”
The sheriff’s office said XXXTentacion was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Dispatch audio obtained by TMZ revealed the attack was a possible drive-by, and that the rapper was described as “comatose” on the scene.
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XXXTentacion has made headlines in recent months for a string of legal problems stemming from a 2016 domestic violence arrest.
The rapper, who stands accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend, was slapped with 15 new felony charges in December, including witness tampering and witness harassment.
Prosecutors believe the musician — by way of recorded calls he made in jail — attempted to coerce his girlfriend into dropping her case against him.
He served a brief stint behind bars in December before he was released on house arrest. A judge in March granted his request to take his music on tour.
The rapper’s music made waves last month after Spotify announced it would scrub his tracks from its platform, as his alleged behavior had violated codes of conduct.
The move drew backlash, and Spotify quickly reversed its decision.
XXXTentacion launched his career in 2014, uploading his first song to SoundCloud months after serving a nine-month stint in a juvenile detention center for a gun possession charge.
The music world took notice one year later with the release of the single “Look at Me,” which eventually cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 95, and even sparked beef with Drake, who was accused of ripping off the track for his own song “KMT.”
After a slew of independently released EPs, the rapper dropped his debut mixtape, “Revenge,” in May 2017, earning him a coveted, fan-selected spot on hip-hop magazine XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class cover.
His debut album, “17,” was released in August and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The record found a fan in rapper Kendrick Lamar, who tweeted, “Listen to this album if you feel anything. Raw thoughts.”
Despite a declaration in October that he planned on quitting the music industry and terminating his deal with Capitol Records, XXXTentacion returned in March with his second album, “?,” which hit No. 1, selling the equivalent of 131,000 units in its first week.
He charted his first top 10 single, “Sad!,” later that month.
Members of the hip-hop community were quick to mourn the loss, like rapper Tyga, who tweeted, “Really sad rip xxx.. so sad to lose good artist.”
“This got me f–ked up. RIP X. Enormous talent and limitless potential and a strong desire to be a better person. God bless his family, friends and fans,” J. Cole tweeted.
DJ Diplo, who produced music with the rapper, also remembered the star on Twitter with a picture of the pair captioned, “Thanks for inspiring me.”
XXXTentacion was killed the same day that Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo was murdered in a drive-by shooting.
