XXXTentacion's fame skyrocketed after his shocking death.
The popular rapper, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was shot dead outside a motorcycle dealership in south Florida in June. He was 20 years old. Four men were later indicted on first-degree murder charges in connection with his killing.
Since his death, more than 4.5 million copies of his records have been sold, while he also received major award nominations for the first time; two posthumous 2018 American Music Awards nods, for New Artist of the Year and Favorite Album – Soul/R&B for 17, his debut album.
XXXTentacion rose to fame in 2003 after uploading his track "News/Flock" to SoundCloud. In 2016, he dropped his first official solo single, "Look at Me!" which reached No. 34 on the U.S. singles chart. His most successful single, "Sad!" released in March, as certified double platinum four days before the rapper died. The track debuted at No. 17 and slowly fell down the U.S. singles chart until a week after his death, after which it rose to No. 1.
Less than two weeks after rapper's death, his 2017 single "Jocelyn Flores" sold another million copies in the United States, certifying it double platinum. The same thing happened in July with his single "F--k Love," released this past January. In August, his second album, ?, which was released in March, and one of its tracks, "Moonlight," each sold an extra 500,000 copies and were certified platinum. The song also reached No. 13 on the U.S. chart.
A week later, XXXTentacion's debut 2017 album, 17, also sold an extra 500,000 units and was certified platinum as well, while Kodak Black's 2017 single "Roll in Peace," which features the late rapper, sold an extra million copies to go double platinum.
Meanwhile, new music from XXXTentacion was also released after his death. A posthumous album is in the works.
In mid-September, XXXTentacion's single "Falling Down" featuring Lil Peep, who died in 2017, was dropped and hit No. 13 on the U.S. singles chart. Also that month, Lil Wayne released his album Tha Carter V, which features XXXTentacion on the song "Don't Cry."
On September 30, a music video for the rapper's 2018 single "Moonlight" was released. It has been viewed more than 30 million times.
The 2018 American Music Awards will air live from L.A.'s Microsoft Theater on ABC on Tuesday, October 9, at 8 p.m.