Ever since his tragic death in June of 2018, every aspect of XXXTentacion’s life has been ushered into mainstream media. For the short time that he was alive, he has created an impressive volume of content; most of which was originally released on Soundcloud.
A simple Soundcloud search will tell you that XXXTentacion’s first song was his 2014 track, “Vice City”; however, this is not the entire truth. Sources online say that rare tracks exist as far back as 2013. XXXTentacion, who is also known as X or Jaseh Onfroy, started recording clandestine tracks as early as his sophomore year of high school.
There are a few forums and collectives dedicated to showcasing his deleted and forgotten work. Because most of his original music was published online, there will always be mystery shrouding his earliest songs.
Groups such as Reddit’s “Very Rare Lost Songs” attempt to compile his work, but comments on the forum speak to an overall uncertainty of whether there are more lost songs to be found.
On & Off the Record
According to several sources, the first-ever song uploaded to Onfroy’s Soundcloud was News/Flock in June of 2013. Because of the impermanence the internet affords, this original song was deleted on April 12th, 2015, and the status is reported as entirely lost.
Many songs from the earliest era of his music met this same fate. After his death, fans scrambled to preserve any lost tracks that could be found, as they would be part of his legacy.
Imminent Success & Impending Tragedy
In 2017 and 2018 alone, he released his debut studio album “17”, seventh EP “A Ghetto Christmas Carol”, and second studio album “?”. Many singles from these albums went on to be RIAA certified Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum.
In his short career, Onfroy proved to be an award-winning artist. His RIAA Certified Gold singles to date include “Gospel”, “I don’t let go”, “Sauce!”, “I don’t even speak Spanish lol”, and “Numb”. Onfroy’s Certified Gold albums are “Revenge” and “Skins”.
His Certified Platinum singles include “Woah (Mind in Awe)”, “Carry On”, “Arms Around You”, “BAD!”, “Falling Down”, “Hope”, and “the remedy for a broken heart (why am I so in love)”; with a Platinum, award as well for his album “?”.
While this list may seem exhaustive, it’s important to note that the twenty-year-old artist had only been truly releasing music for about four years at the time of his death. He did also go on to achieve the Certified Multi-Platinum awards for eight singles and one album.
With all of this success in a short time, it is irrefutable that Onfroy’s murder snuffed out the career of a prolific up-and-coming artist. This makes the loss of parts of his early work all the more disquieting.
We have early sketches of Da Vinci’s inventions and doodles; although they are far from his master art, they are a glimpse into a creative mind. Fans are obsessed with finding Onfroy’s early work for a similar reason.
Ever-Evolving
While fans continually add to and speculate on his early music, XXXTentacion has created somewhat of a lore around his tracks. The cloak of mystery extends from his early music to his posthumous releases.