Life imprisonment for three men for the murder of rapper XXXTentacion

Nearly five years after the murder of American rapper XXXTentacion, three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Judge Michael Usan read out each of the three offenders their sentences on Thursday and stressed that none of the men, aged 26, 24 and 28, will leave prison alive. The convict listened without responding.

The men were convicted of murder and armed robbery by a grand jury in March.

The then 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot dead in June 2018 in front of a motorcycle shop in Deerfield Beach north of Miami. An SUV blocked the rapper’s car, two people got out and shot the 20-year-old. They stole a bag containing $50,000 in cash and fled.

Emerging hip-hop star

According to prosecutors, 28-year-old Michael B. and 24-year-old Trayvon N. got out of the car. N. shot the rapper accordingly. Dedrick W., 26, had been charged with planning the attack.

XXXTentacion was one of the stars of the young hip-hop scene in the US. The rapper rose to fame with publications on the SoundCloud platform. In his dark songs like “Look at Me!” he continued to talk about his criminal past and reported depression and suicidal thoughts.

Previously convicted of violent outbursts

His second studio album titled «?» climbed to the top of the hip-hop charts in the US – without any traditional advertising campaign. After his death, his song “Sad!” number one on the US charts.

Privately, things were not going well for XXXTentacion: the rapper, who had previously been convicted of violent outbursts, was facing a new trial at the time. During the #MeToo debate, an ex-girlfriend had accused him of hitting her when she was pregnant. (sda/afp)