Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, better known as XXXTentacion or just "X", was shot and killed at a motorbike shop in Deerfield Beach, Florida on Monday, June 18th, 2018. His death has been described as a "robbery gone wrong", as it wasn't premeditated. The suspect, Dedrick Devonshay Williams was arrested for the shooting two days after it took place. He's been charged for first degree murder without premeditation.

X's death brought out mixed reactions from the public. His fans are mourning his death, and they continue to support him on his music and life choices. On the other hand, some people think he got what he deserved. But does he really deserve to die to pay for his past? During the months leading up to his death, he had been very active in charity work, and trying to better himself, as well as America's youth, but does that automatically redeem him as a person in the public eye?

The biggest issues people have with his past are based on events that took place in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, X was arrested and charged for home invasion, robbery, and aggravated battery, which he plead no contest to in March of 2017. In October of 2016 he was arrested and charged for aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, witness tampering, and false imprisonment. His ex girlfriend, who is the alleged victim, gave a gruesome testimony, describing evil and unthinkable things that he did to her. He didn't confess to these charges, so we will never know for sure if all these allegations actually took place.

Though his past was shady because of these main convictions and allegations, his music was still greatly celebrated by his fans. His songs touched many lives due to how deep his lyrics were, he was very open about his struggles with mental illnesses. For many fans, it's easy to look past his contreversies due to his vulnerable lyrics and all of the charity work he did. He actively tried to put out a good message and try to better himself everyday. A few months before his death, in an Instagram Live Video, he said to his fans:

"Worst thing comes to worse, I f*cking die a tragic death or some sh*t and I'm not able to see out my dreams, I at least want to know that the kids received my message and were able to make something of themselves, and were able to take my message and use it and turn it into something positive and to at least have a good life...

I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy...

I just wanted to say that I appreciate and love all of you. I believe in you all, do not let your depression make you. Do not let your body define your soul, let your soul define your body. Your mind is limitless, you are worth more than you can believe. All you have to do is dream, and all you have to do is want to fulfill that dream and have strength..."

He had the desire to constantly better himself and better the world and people around him. Earlier this year on an Instagram Story he announced to his fans that he was going to donate $100,000 to domestic violence prevention programs, and that he was going to host an event to support rape victims. He did large amounts of other charity work on top of that, including that he made many strides to bring music programs into public schools for America's youth and he even hosted a benefit concert for the victims of the Parkland, FL school shooting.

X accomplished many incredible things during this short-lived career, and his message was greatly received by so many people. His death brought large crowds of people together to celebrate his life. Some vigils were peaceful, and some ended up becoming riots. LAPD had to eventually take measures to break up the rioting crowds that had gathered on Melrose, Ave in Los Angeles to celebrate X's life. The use of tear gas was authorized, but thankfully no casualties or arrests were reported. The death of such a controversial person incited many different reactions from the public, but the positive definitely outweighed the negative. X would have been proud of that his life touched so many people.

If he was so greatly celebrated by so many people, does that mean they have forgiven him for his past mistakes? Maybe so. XXXTentacion's legacy will forever be an example of how one can always better themselves and have a constant desire for positive growth and positive change in their life, no matter what darkness the past may hold. The past can't be forgotten, but it doesn't have to define you. It can be used as something to build yourself back up from and help change your life for the better.

RIP XXXTentacion

1998-2018