People from in and out of the hip-hop community continue to speak on the murder of rapper XXXTentacion, who was gunned down in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on Monday, June 18.
So far, celebrities like J. Cole, Master P, Mike Epps, DJ Premiere, Diddy and Kanye West have touched on the killing.
Charlamagne Tha God gave his take as well and said he often noticed that XXX would talk about his own death, which wasn’t good.
“I don’t know much about XXXTentacion,” he said. “But when I did see him I would see him say things like ‘Kill me so I don’t talk sh–‘ … I saw him talking ‘I might die tragically.'” I’m not saying that’s what caused his demise, all I’m saying is I want to encourage these kids to speak life.”
“The Breakfast Club” host was then asked if older rappers should help the younger artists do better and school them on how to avoid negativity.
“Of course,” he answered. “When you’re an OG and you’re somebody that’s older, it’s your job to teach the next generation. If the next generation is f—– up, it’s because you didn’t teach them any better. Like, if you’re a parent and you’re looking at your kids like ‘Aw, you’re all f—– up,’ that’s your fault. You’re the one who’s been raising them all these years. The OGs, the elders, they have to teach the next generation better.”
Another huge problem, Charlamagne said, is that people are fooled by the smoke and mirrors of the entertainment industry, which causes a lot of unnecessary drama.
“We live in a society where we can’t separate reality from fantasy anymore. There were people saying XXXTentacion faked his own death, and he’s still alive because they didn’t see any blood, and they didn’t see any glass shatter. We’re all slaves to this device,” said the radio host, as he held up his smartphone.
Surely, Charlamagne isn’t the only person in hip-hop who encouraged rappers to speak about life instead of death. In fact, it’s been going on for decades now.
For example, on De La Soul’s 1996 cut “Long Island Degrees,” group member Dave devoted one of his lines to The Notorious B.I.G and his debut album “Ready to Die.”
Of course, Biggie would be murdered one year after the song was released, and some might say at that point, Dave’s lyrics took on an even bigger meaning.
“I got questions about your life if you’re so ready to die,” he said in the cut.
Bugzy Malone, a grime artist from the UK, also shared Charlamagne’s opinion about words having power, and he sent a tweet shortly after XXX’s death.
“The things you say out loud and believe are the things you attract,” he wrote. “Please think positive.”
You can check out Charlamange’s interview on XXX’s murder below, as well as other celebrity reactions.
This got me fucked up. RIP X. Enormous talent and limitless potential and a strong desire to be a better person. God bless his family, friends and fans.
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1008839504902307840
https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/1008978389334745093
THE THINGS YOU SAY OUT LOUD AND BELIEVE ARE THE THINGS YOU ATTRACT, PLEASE THINK POSITIVE. ONLY EVER SEEN VIRAL VIDEOS BUT R.I.P @xxxtentacion #YoungAndTalended😒
— Bugzy Malone (@TheBugzyMalone) June 18, 2018
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkLwOTJAmZk/?utm_source=ig_embed
