[14][15] Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fan base during his short career with his depression- and alienation-themed music.

[54] Onfroy began to listen to rap, nu metal, and hard rock during his time at Sheridan House Family Ministries, which led to him learning how to play the piano and guitar.

After Onfroy adopted the moniker XXXTentacion, he uploaded his first non-deleted song, called "Vice City", on SoundCloud,[64] included on his debut mixtape XXX (Unmastered) released on March 5, 2014.

[38] The album missed the release date and was delayed due to Onfroy being arrested in early October on multiple charges of false imprisonment, witness tampering and aggravated battery of his then pregnant girlfriend.

[102] 17 gave Onfroy's seven songs—"Jocelyn Flores", "Revenge", "Fuck Love", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares", "Depression & Obsession", "Save Me", and "Carry On"—that debuted in the Billboard Hot 100 at number 31, 77, 41, 54, 91, 94 and 95, respectively.

[121][122] On January 22, 2018, Onfroy announced on Instagram that he and New York rapper Joey Badass had been creating a project together,[123] and the two released a freestyle to the song "King's Dead" on SoundCloud on March 9, 2018, in preparation for the collaboration.

[141][142] On Trippie Redd's 2021 album, Trip at Knight, a reworked version of "Ghost Busters" titled "Danny Phantom" was released, with XXXTentacion as the sole feature rather than the inclusions of Ski Mask the Slump God and Quavo.

On August 31, 2018, Houston rapper Sauce Walka released his Drip God mixtape which featured a collaboration with Onfroy titled "Voss" produced by Carnage.

[168] His influences included Kurt Cobain, 2Pac, Cage the Elephant, Chingy, Coldplay, Eminem, The Fray, Chief Keef, Gorillaz, Hoobastank, Lana Del Rey,[169] Laura Mvula,[170] The Notorious B.I.G., Papa Roach, Yoko Shimomura,[171] Slipknot,[172] Tech N9ine, Three Days Grace, The Weeknd, and Kanye West.

[195] On August 24, 2017, a day before the release of his debut album, 17, Onfroy uploaded a video to the social media platform Instagram of him depicting the act of suicide by hanging.

[227] During a concert in San Diego in June 2017, a physical altercation occurred, which led to Onfroy being knocked unconscious[228][229][230] and an audience member being stabbed,[231] though the injury was non-life-threatening.

[citation needed] Dylan Turner, known professionally as Tablez, a New Jersey native studying at Full Sail University, managed XXXTentacion and his best friend Ski Mask the Slump God in 2016.

"[253] On July 14, 2016, days after being bailed for stabbing Tablez, Onfroy was arrested and charged with robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and home invasion committed in November 2015.

"[283] Starling later released a statement admitting that the version of events described by Onfroy and his team were correct, and that she "hope[d] that people see the video in the playful context in which it was recorded and nothing more".

It was revealed later that Onfroy appeared to have indeed acted in self-defense, as a video of the incident showed that he and his friend, record producer Khaed were about to be jumped by around twenty-five to forty people surrounding them.

According to Ayala's statement, Onfroy beat her at times, choked her, broke clothes hangers on her legs, threatened to chop off her hair or cut out her tongue, pressed knives or scissors to her face, and held her head underwater in their bathroom while promising to drown her.

[326] Some psychologists have speculated that Onfroy may have suffered from an attachment disorder stemming from the absence of his mother and father during childhood, which could have made him prone to uncontrollable violent outbursts.

Miami New Times journalist Tarpley Hitt, who conducted one of few mainstream media interviews with him, reflected that he spent most of the two-hour conversation speaking on the subject at the expense of answering questions on his childhood or criminal charges.

[346] On his XXL Freshman cypher and his track "I Spoke to the Devil in Miami, He Said Everything Would Be Fine", Onfroy mentioned selling his soul to Satan; when questioned by DJ Akademiks on the subject, he refused to answer, concerned that he could encourage "kids going down that dark path".

[357] Despite previously expressing opposition to gun control measures,[289] Onfroy reversed his stance on the issue following the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

"[62] At 3:56 p.m EDT on June 18, 2018, Onfroy, upon leaving Riva Motorsports Motorcycle & Marine Superstore in Deerfield Beach, Florida, was blocked from exiting the parking lot by a black Dodge Journey SUV in a premeditated attack.

Highlighting his ambivalent public reception during his short career, Billboard wrote:"The provocative and polarizing artist seemed to thrive on controversy as much as art, often blurring the lines between shocking reality and button-pushing creativity.

XXXTentacion has been cited as an influence by a number of artists, including Billie Eilish,[301] Juice Wrld,[183] Kendrick Lamar,[394] Lil Nas X,[395] Trippie Redd,[396] and Kanye West.

[25][386][399][26] An article in The Guardian described his legacy in more critical terms, stating that "He will be remembered mostly for the unusually cruel violence he committed on vulnerable people, particularly his ex-girlfriend, crimes for which he never expressed remorse.

"[25] In an article for The Atlantic, Hannah Giorgis expressed similar criticisms, though she also noted that XXXTentacion "reminded young fans in particular that their hurt was valid but that it did not form the sum total of their lives" and that he "gave voice to their insecurities.

[399] In The Washington Post, Chris Richards commented on XXXTentacion's complicated legacy, contrasting how he "encouraged his fans to find hope in the fog of their despair, but bragged enthusiastically about the joy he felt in brutalizing others.

His death has required that we be the bigger person and acknowledge and respect that his life was taken, even though he didn't offer the same courtesy through his music and actions... if this 20-year-old was killed, and some of us find joy in that, how much have we exfoliated away at our own empathy and humanity?

"[400] In an article for Slate, Jack Hamilton shared similar sentiments to Golding, warning of the slippery slope of moral absolutism in the wake of XXXTentacion's death, calling those celebrating his murder "self-righteous" and stating, "I have trouble mining any feelings of superiority or 'justice' from the killing of a 20-year-old, no matter what he did in his life."

Hamilton also cautioned against demonizing XXXTentacion's fans, writing, "Those people just lost an artist who was important to them, who spoke to and for them when no one else seemed to, who just died in an act of brutal violence, and almost all of us of at any age know what that's like.

"[401][402] Jordan Bassett of NME additionally shared a similar point of view to that of Golding and Hamilton, writing, "[XXXTentacion] was exposed to unspeakable violence in his past; we know patterns of abuse repeat themselves.