120 Fun Facts About XXXTentacion

What was XXXTentacion's real first name?

Jahseh reworks the song title "So Jah Seh" into a first name, which friends and family shortened to Jah.

In which Florida city was XXXTentacion born?

Plantation is a suburb he never strayed far from: months before he was killed he bought a $1.4 million home a short drive away in Parkland.

XXXTentacion's parents were immigrants from which country?

Jamaica runs through his posthumous single "Royalty", a dancehall track on which he raps in a Jamaican accent alongside Ky-Mani Marley.

Which relative mainly raised XXXTentacion?

His grandmother, Collette Jones, gave him his steadiest home from the age of 12; he said she felt like his mom while his mother felt more like a sister.

What does the Spanish word "tentación" in XXXTentacion's stage name mean in English?

Temptation is the meaning; he took the name after leaving juvenile detention, when he ordered a Snowball microphone on eBay and started recording.

Which grunge frontman did XXXTentacion idolise, calling him "the only person who inspires me"?

Kurt Cobain was the idol, and the Nirvana influence shows in the guitars and screaming that set him apart from other SoundCloud rappers.

Which rapper did XXXTentacion say he met while in juvenile detention?

Ski Mask the Slump God says he freestyled for him while they were locked up and X pushed him to keep writing, though some friends told a biographer the pair really met at high school.

What was the first song XXXTentacion uploaded to SoundCloud that was never deleted?

Vice City stayed a SoundCloud-only fan favourite until January 2022, when his estate made it the opening release in a drive to clear his earliest music for streaming services.

What was the name of the South Florida hip-hop collective XXXTentacion founded as a teenager?

Members Only came soon after he joined a friend's crew; Vol. 1 was a two-man tape, and the wider circle joined for Vol. 2.

At which festival did Sabaah Folayan's documentary about XXXTentacion premiere in 2022?

South by Southwest gave the film its world premiere in Austin, five years after The Fader began making it while he was still alive.

On which hip-hop podcast did XXXTentacion give his first long-form interview in April 2016?

No Jumper host Adam Grandmaison, a former BMX rider, announced the following January that he was managing him while the rapper sat in jail.

Which R&B singer was dropped from Spotify's playlists alongside XXXTentacion under its 2018 hateful-conduct policy?

R. Kelly was the other star named when the policy launched that May, but Spotify scrapped the conduct rule within weeks after artists and labels objected.

Which rapper says he let XXXTentacion stay at his house to keep him out of trouble?

Denzel Curry had first reached out to work with him after hearing his collective's early mixtapes, and a friendship and business partnership followed.

Which song became XXXTentacion's breakthrough sleeper hit in early 2017?

Look at Me! had sat online for about a year before it took off while he was in jail, and it peaked at number 34 a month after he got out.

XXXTentacion's breakthrough single samples Mala, a London producer of which genre?

Dubstep, from a 2007 Mala track, was buried under distortion the makers added on purpose, the opposite of a polished master.

Fans accused which Canadian rapper of copying XXXTentacion's flow on the song "KMT"?

Drake previewed the song at an Amsterdam show in January 2017, and the uproar only made the jailed newcomer more famous.

The New Yorker said in 2017 that XXXTentacion looked like which fictional villain?

Cruella de Vil came to mind because half of his dreadlocks were bleached white, though the magazine found his smile seemed to contradict his tattoos.

With which company did XXXTentacion sign his first deal, a one-album contract agreed while he was in jail?

Empire Distribution beat major labels including Atlantic to the deal, and the debut album it released that August opened at number two in the US.

Why did XXXTentacion's Revenge Tour end early?

His cousin was shot, so he refunded every ticket, saying he wanted to be at his side, and kept only his hometown date in Florida.

XXXTentacion appeared on which magazine's 2017 cover of rising rappers?

XXL gave him the "10th Spot" on its Freshman cover, the one place chosen by fans, after his supporters flooded the voting page and won it by thousands of votes.

Which awards show named XXXTentacion's 17 its favourite soul/R&B album?

American Music Awards voters chose it over albums by SZA and Khalid, and his mother, Cleopatra Bernard, walked up to collect the trophy for him.

Which album, released the same day as XXXTentacion's 17, kept it off the top of the Billboard 200?

Lil Uzi Vert's Luv Is Rage 2 rode a top-ten single to 135,000 units against his 87,000; he reached number one the following March with his next album.

Which Latin pop star joins Lil Pump and Swae Lee on XXXTentacion's posthumous 2018 single "Arms Around You"?

Maluma and the other big names were added after his death; the song began in 2017 as a duet with his friend Rio Santana, whose verse was reportedly dropped.

Who is the only guest artist on XXXTentacion's debut album 17?

Trippie Redd later fell out with him, then made peace in March 2018 after X called him an amazing artist from the stage at a Florida benefit show.

XXXTentacion said his debut album 17 was aimed at which audience?

People who suffer with depression were the listeners he named, and he told anyone who played him to get hype not to buy it; the album still opened at number two.

Whose online clips provide the sampled vocals on XXXTentacion's song "Jocelyn Flores"?

Shiloh Dynasty posted short voice-and-guitar clips online, then went silent; the producer Potsu looped them for three songs on X's debut album.

XXXTentacion scored a 2017 Hot 100 hit as the guest on which rapper's song "Roll in Peace"?

Kodak Black made the video with A$AP Rocky's creative agency, rapping from a courtroom and a church altar in an orange prison jumpsuit.

What did XXXTentacion announce soon after signing a $6 million deal?

Ending the contract, he told fans on Instagram a week after the reported $6 million signing, insisting he was not a signed artist; soon after he said he was done with music, a vow that did not last.

Which singer's 2017 single "Again" featured XXXTentacion's vocals?

Noah Cyrus sings the pleading hook while he slurs a slow verse, and the video sends her wandering through a graveyard without him.

What was the title of the EP XXXTentacion released on SoundCloud on December 11, 2017?

A Ghetto Christmas Carol was an early Christmas present to fans, released, he said, because his freedom was being tested: he was due in court four days later.

What was the title of XXXTentacion's second studio album, released in March 2018?

"?" became his first number-one album on streaming alone: Billboard noted it would have topped the chart without a single copy sold.

Which New York rapper guests on "Infinity (888)" from XXXTentacion's second studio album?

Joey Badass had announced a joint project with him that January, and a week before the album the pair traded verses on a freestyle over "King's Dead".

Which rock drummer appears on XXXTentacion's second studio album?

Travis Barker of Blink-182 co-wrote and drums on "Pain = Best Friend", a 100-second blast of screamed rock in the middle of the album.

Who produced "Sad!" and most of XXXTentacion's second studio album?

John Cunningham kept producing after the shooting, with credits on the posthumous releases that followed.

In the video for "Sad!", whose funeral does XXXTentacion attend?

His own funeral is the setting: his body climbs out of the casket and attacks him, and the two versions of X fight it out in a video he wrote himself.

'Sad!' made XXXTentacion the first lead artist with a posthumous Hot 100 number one since which rapper?

The Notorious B.I.G. had last done it in 1997 with "Mo Money Mo Problems"; "Sad!" leapt from number 52 to the top in the week after the shooting.

On house arrest in January 2018, XXXTentacion began uploading what kind of videos to YouTube?

Gaming it was: his first video came with a note apologising to fans for having been so distant, sad and paranoid lately.

What RIAA certification did "Sad!" receive in August 2021?

Diamond marks ten million units; his mother accepted the plaque on his behalf, three years after his death.

Which rapper's label threatened to pull his music from Spotify after it dropped XXXTentacion from playlists in 2018?

Kendrick Lamar's label boss, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, rang Spotify's chief executive to warn that his artists would walk; the conduct rule was gone within three weeks.

XXXTentacion's February 2018 song "Hope" was dedicated to the victims of which event?

The school is in Parkland, a few miles north of his hometown.

Which hashtag challenge did XXXTentacion set fans in January 2018, asking them to post themselves doing good deeds?

#HELPINGHANDCHALLENGE came with prizes of games consoles, $1,000 and a trip to meet him; he had just filled a van with gifts for children in a foster home.

Which rapper features on "One Minute" from XXXTentacion's posthumous album Skins?

The track was first previewed as part of that artist's cancelled album Yandhi.

Before his third album came out, XXXTentacion promised it would be what?

Very short was his promise, heard in a voice clip posted after his death; the finished album packs ten songs into under 20 minutes.

Which XXXTentacion album, planned as his 2016 debut, ended up as his fourth and final album?

It finally arrived in December 2019, more than a year after his death.

Which dancehall star appears on XXXTentacion's posthumous 2019 single "Royalty"?

Vybz Kartel was the guest he had been excited about since early 2018; his estate added two more voices before releasing the track the following summer.

Which late emo rapper's "Falling Down" features tribute verses recorded by XXXTentacion?

Lil Peep recorded it with iLoveMakonnen before his fatal overdose in 2017; X heard a snippet on YouTube and added a part in tribute, and both mothers approved the release.

Which EDM star co-produced "Arms Around You", XXXTentacion's posthumous single with Lil Pump and Swae Lee?

Skrillex previewed the track on Instagram the day before its release, then deleted the post; he co-produced it with Mally Mall and JonFX.

XXXTentacion was the unnamed guest on "Scared of the Dark", from which animated film's soundtrack?

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse billed him only as a "special guest" when the tracklist came out; his name surfaced days before release, printed on the soundtrack's physical copy.

Which 2015 XXXTentacion song did his estate put back on streaming services during the George Floyd protests of 2020?

Riot dates from 2015, months after the unrest in Ferguson, and it is no rallying cry: he criticises rioting and tells looters to consider the shopkeepers whose stores they are wrecking.

XXXTentacion's estate put five of his old SoundCloud songs on sale in what form?

NFTs carried five songs that had been big on SoundCloud but never sold, along with unseen footage from his only tour.

On which streaming service was the 2022 documentary about XXXTentacion's life released?

Hulu's film sits him beside his accuser: it includes an interview with the ex-girlfriend who alleged abuse, and footage of her meeting his mother.

What kind of business had XXXTentacion just left when he was shot in June 2018?

A motorcycle and boat dealership: two of the robbers went inside while he shopped, and one bought a mask there, before the ambush outside.

What car was XXXTentacion driving when he was killed?

A black BMW i8, which a dark SUV boxed in at the exit. The SUV's driver was arrested within two days: shop cameras had caught his bright orange sandals, and a matching pair turned up on his Instagram.

What did the gunmen who shot XXXTentacion take from his car?

A Louis Vuitton bag holding cash he had just withdrawn from the bank, put at $50,000; within a day the robbers filmed themselves showing off the money, a clip the jury later watched.

How did Robert Allen avoid trial for XXXTentacion's murder?

Took a plea deal: Robert Allen admitted second-degree murder, testified against the other three defendants and was given seven years, most of it already served.

Where was the open-casket public memorial for XXXTentacion held in June 2018?

BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, home of ice hockey's Florida Panthers, held a six-hour viewing, and thousands queued for hours to file past.

What name was given to XXXTentacion's son, born in January 2019?

Gekyume was a word he coined himself, meaning a different state or next universe of thought, and he chose it before he died; the baby arrived three days after what would have been his 21st birthday.

What happened to XXXTentacion mid-song at a San Diego concert in June 2017?

He was knocked out on stage by a man who came at him from the side, then carried off as a brawl broke out; hours later he tweeted that security and the venue had set him up.

The composer of which video game series recorded a piano tribute called "Nocturne" for XXXTentacion?

Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura wrote it for a fan: his estate said he often turned to her music for comfort and peace, and a clip of him listening to it moved her.

Which rap veteran admitted he "didn't know who XXXTentacion was" before featuring him on the 2018 song "Don't Cry"?

Lil Wayne said his label president picked the verse while sequencing Tha Carter V, and that he had not replayed the album since hearing his mother cry on the intro.

Why was a young XXXTentacion thrown out of his school chorus?

He hit a classmate, which ended the school chorus his aunt had steered him into; fighting also got him expelled from middle school.

In 2025 a fellow rapper named XXXTentacion among the inventors of which trap subgenre?

Rage had just been claimed by a far bigger star, who said he invented it; the rapper shot back on Instagram that he, X, Carti and one other peer created the sound and popularised it.

In 2026, Make Out Hill was announced as what kind of project inspired by XXXTentacion?

An animated feature film, made with his estate by the studio of The Boondocks producer Carl Jones; its title is the display name he used on his social media accounts.

In which Florida city did XXXTentacion spend most of his childhood?

Lauderhill, in a gated community, became his settled home at 12; before that he bounced between there and Pompano Beach because his mother, he said, was in situations where she could not look after him.

Which two instruments did XXXTentacion try to teach himself as a young teenager?

Piano and guitar, which he took up as he fell for nu metal and hard rock as well as rap; acoustic guitar later ran through much of his chart-topping second album.

The day after XXXTentacion's death, 'Sad!' broke which pop star's Spotify record for most streams in a single day?

Taylor Swift's single-day mark fell to 'Sad!' weeks after Spotify had pulled his songs from its own playlists over his conduct, then backed down.

Which pop star performed '6.18.18', an unreleased tribute to her friend XXXTentacion, on her 2018 tour?

Billie Eilish told an Oakland crowd he made her feel OK when nothing else did; the title is the date he died.

Which posthumous XXXTentacion album became his second number-one on the Billboard 200?

Skins opened at number one in December 2018; XXXTentacion had announced the title himself on Instagram a year earlier, six months before he was killed.

Which Chicago rapper released the tribute song 'Legends' the day after XXXTentacion was killed?

Juice WRLD put it out within a day, and its line about not making it past 21 was reread as a prophecy when he died at that age in December 2019.

What sentence did the three men convicted of XXXTentacion's murder receive?

Life without parole was automatic: Florida makes it mandatory for first-degree murder once the death penalty is off the table, as it was here.

XXXTentacion's father took his son's unusual first name from a song by which reggae star?

Bob Marley recorded the song, which draws on a passage from the Book of Ezekiel. The rapper's father and grandfather were both Rastafarians.

Which Roald Dahl character is branded a child murderer in the title of a 2016 XXXTentacion EP?

Willy Wonka takes the blame in the title of an April 2016 EP whose music was heavily inspired by heavy metal and indie.

Which day job did XXXTentacion quit in 2016 because his music career was taking off?

Call center operator was the job he walked away from in 2016, the same year he moved in with a fellow Florida rapper and put out two EPs.

Which candidate did XXXTentacion signal support for during the 2016 US presidential race?

Bernie Sanders had his backing in the Democratic primary. He opposed Donald Trump's candidacy but predicted on Twitter that Trump would win.

Which clothing, caught on shop cameras and on Instagram, led police to a suspect in XXXTentacion's killing?

Orange sandals gave him away: detectives matched the bright pair in the footage to recent photos on the suspect's own feed and arrested him two days after the shooting.

At which Florida festival did XXXTentacion give his last live performance, a month before his death?

Rolling Loud in Miami hosted his last set. At the same 2018 festival he made up in public with his best friend, ending a feud that had run since the previous autumn.

XXXTentacion planned three linked EPs in 2014, modelled on the mixtape trilogy of which singer?

The Weeknd's trilogy was the template, but only The Nobodys and The Fall came out; the third EP, The Underworld, was abandoned for other projects.

Why was XXXTentacion's son left out of the will that named three relatives as his heirs?

It predated the pregnancy: he learned he was to be a father only three weeks before he died, so the will names just his mother and two half-brothers.

Which neo-soul singer was among the mourners at XXXTentacion's private funeral in June 2018?

Erykah Badu attended the private service on June 28, 2018, the day after a public memorial for fans. He was entombed in a mausoleum in Boca Raton.

Which XXXTentacion song's posthumous video shows him at a woodland party where every guest wears black?

Moonlight got its video in October 2018. He wrote and creative-directed it himself, and it closes with tribute messages added after his death.

Which organ was affected by the birth defect XXXTentacion had as a newborn in Florida?

Heart: he was born with a ventricular septal defect, the condition commonly known as a hole in the heart.

XXXTentacion, who left school in tenth grade, said in 2018 he was getting his GED and heading where next?

Community college was the plan he announced in March 2018, and his death certificate records that he did complete the GED.

Which country singer's 2024 album 9 Lives includes a cover of a song from XXXTentacion's debut album?

Koe Wetzel recorded the cover for his sixth studio album and released a music video for it on the day the record came out.

Which fellow rapper is the uncredited guest voice on XXXTentacion's slow 2018 single "Changes"?

PnB Rock, who had shared a 2017 magazine cover of rising rappers with him, sings on it without a credit. He returned on the title track of the final album.

In which Florida city was XXXTentacion ambushed and killed in his car in June 2018?

Deerfield Beach is where the robbery happened, just east of the city where he was living. A hospital in the same town pronounced him dead.

What is the first name of XXXTentacion's mother, a central voice in the 2022 documentary about his life?

Cleopatra Bernard appears throughout the documentary, including an on-camera meeting with the ex-girlfriend who had accused her son of abuse.

Which condition was XXXTentacion diagnosed with as a child and then again as an adult?

Bipolar disorder was diagnosed in his childhood and confirmed when he was an adult. By the time of his death he was seeing a therapist and taking medication.

Which make of microphone did XXXTentacion buy in 2013, the purchase that started him recording music?

Blue Snowball was the mic he bought after leaving juvenile detention in 2013, and the sight of him recording persuaded a friend to start rapping too.

What did XXXTentacion ask fans to do in March 2018 before he would release the outtake "Hearteater"?

Follow a charity online was the deal: he wanted a Miami charity's Instagram page at 30,000 followers, and he put the song on SoundCloud two days later.

Which rapper joined the 2019 remix of XXXTentacion's "#ProudCatOwner", lead single of a deluxe album reissue?

Rico Nasty added a verse that reused the lines from her own magazine cypher freestyle that year. The original track had been a SoundCloud exclusive in December 2017.

Which instrument carries the melody of "Whoa (Mind in Awe)", a gentle track on XXXTentacion's third album?

Xylophone notes run under his singing about moving on from a troubled past. A remix with a verse recorded in 2019 by another late rapper came out in May 2025.

Who served as XXXTentacion's official DJ from 2016 and later released a debut album called Family?

DJ Scheme is a fellow Floridian who began as half of a duo. His album Family arrived in December 2020 with guests including Lil Yachty and Ty Dolla Sign.

Which producer, once XXXTentacion's housemate in Florida, features him on the 2018 single "Banded Up"?

Ronny J raps over his own beat on the track, the lead single of his mixtape OMGRonny, and gives his former housemate the second verse.

A free XXXTentacion show in 2017 was called off when 3,000 fans came to a 750-capacity venue in which city?

Tampa's Orpheum had to cancel the show before the crush became a safety hazard, and police broke up the crowd left outside.

Who was sitting beside XXXTentacion in his car when armed robbers blocked its path in June 2018?

His step-uncle, Leonard Kerr, had gone into the store with him that afternoon and fled the car during the struggle, leaving the passenger door open.

XXXTentacion used Instagram in November 2017 to accuse which Atlanta rap group of attacking him at gunpoint?

Migos were the group he named, after one of the trio, Offset, had used an Instagram livestream to attack him verbally.

Which superstar DJ produced "Looking for a Star", the one new song on XXXTentacion's 2017 mixtape Revenge?

Diplo made the beat with King Henry. The other seven songs on the mixtape had already been streaming on SoundCloud.

Which British rapper is one of three guests on XXXTentacion's dancehall-flavoured 2019 single "Royalty"?

Stefflon Don was added after his death. He had announced only one collaborator on the song himself, about five months before he was killed.

Which belief about the afterlife did XXXTentacion hold, while saying his own violence meant he had failed its test?

Reincarnation, as he pictured it, is a cycle of death and rebirth that ends only for someone who lives a whole life without harming others.

XXXTentacion's February 2015 EP shares its title with which hit single by Elvis Presley?

Heartbreak Hotel was the EP's title, and although he teased longer tracklists through 2015, only "Teeth (Interlude)" was ever added to it.

A fan memorial for XXXTentacion outside a BMX shop on which Los Angeles street drew over 1,000 people?

Melrose Avenue filled with more than 1,000 mourners the day after his death, and police eventually moved in to disperse the crowd.

Which magazine's film arm recorded the 2017 interviews behind the XXXTentacion documentary In His Own Words?

The Fader's film arm shot the interviews in 2017, and the documentary built from them premiered in November 2022 as a companion to an earlier film.

Which track was the lead and only single from XXXTentacion's first posthumous album?

Bad! reached number 16 on the Hot 100. It was previewed in footage on his Instagram account in which he sings a line of it and talks about the album.

Which singer brought XXXTentacion out at the Staples Center in 2017, his first appearance opening for a major act?

DRAM was a support act on a bigger star's arena tour at the time, and the Los Angeles cameo came sixteen days before the debut album 17 was released.

Which lo-fi producer's track "I'm Closing My Eyes" is the sample behind XXXTentacion's "Jocelyn Flores"?

Potsu, who makes lo-fi instrumental hip-hop on SoundCloud, was one of the three main producers of the debut album 17.

Which co-producer first posted XXXTentacion's breakthrough single on his own SoundCloud account in December 2015?

Rojas built the beat with Jimmy Duval for a different rapper, who never received it. Once the Florida teenager heard it, the track was finished in about fifteen minutes.

XXXTentacion spoke out against a US president's decision to launch a missile strike on which country in April 2017?

Syria was the target, and the strike was one of several causes he took up: he also argued for criminal justice reform and for legal cannabis everywhere.

Which New York-based manager signed XXXTentacion while the rapper was in jail and stayed with him until his death?

Solomon Sobande said it was an early SoundCloud track, not the breakout hit, that persuaded him to get in touch. He then helped secure the first record deal.

Which rapper was kicked by people in the crowd after stage-diving at the Houston opener of XXXTentacion's 2017 tour?

Wifisfuneral, then part of the headliner's own collective, was attacked on the first night, May 31, 2017, and his assailants left the venue straight afterwards.

Which Austrian philosopher's teachings about consciousness inspired XXXTentacion, a keen reader on the occult?

Rudolf Steiner founded anthroposophy, the spiritual philosophy the rapper drew on. A journalist recalled him talking about the occult for most of a two-hour interview.

Which mixtape did XXXTentacion announce alongside the album 17 after leaving jail in 2017, promising mainly rap?

I Need Jesus was to carry his underground rap sound while 17 went in an alternative R&B direction, as he told a magazine days after his release.

Which Capitol Music Group subsidiary signed XXXTentacion's label to a one-album deal in October 2017?

Caroline put out his second album in March 2018, the only one of his records to top the US chart in his lifetime.

XXXTentacion's bass-heavy 2018 collaboration "Voss" takes its title from a brand of what?

Bottled water gives the song its name, in a lyric about luxury and status on which his guest handles the verses while he takes the chorus.

XXXTentacion's "Hate Will Never Win" opens and closes with a president's remarks on a 2017 rally in which city?

Charlottesville, scene of the Unite the Right rally, frames a restrained, old-school track on which he criticises the president's decisions and talks about guiding younger listeners.

Which singer co-created "Sunlight on Your Skin", the demo reworked into "Falling Down" with XXXTentacion's verses?

iLoveMakonnen made the original with a friend who died in 2017, and announced the new version in August 2018, a month before its release.

Which Houston rapper's tribute "Tear Drop" used XXXTentacion's unreleased verses from a 2017 magazine cypher?

Ugly God had shared that cover line-up of rising rappers with him, and released the song four days after the shooting.

Which revered hip-hop producer's instrumental "Life" forms the backing of XXXTentacion's "Hate Will Never Win"?

J Dilla's beat gives the song a restrained, old-school feel, unlike the abrasive sound of most of the EP it first appeared on.

In which Florida city had XXXTentacion bought a $1.4 million mansion that he was moving into when he died?

Parkland was to be home: he bought the 6,000-square-foot house in November 2017, and fans turned the unfinished property into a memorial after his death.

Which pop-punk band is credited as a guest act on XXXTentacion's fourth and final studio album?

Blink-182 appear as a full band on the closing track of a 2019 album whose guest list runs from Rick Ross to Tory Lanez.

Which DJ-producer, since renamed Gordo, is the credited producer on XXXTentacion's 2018 track "Voss"?

Carnage previewed the song on social media two days before the planned release of Drip God, the Houston mixtape that first carried it.