By Greg Rivera
The trial of three of the four men accused of murdering controversial rapper XXXTentacion has begun, drawing attention to the rapper’s strained relationship with fellow musician Drake whose birth name is Aubrey Graham. The trial comes more than four years after XXXTentacion’s murder in Deerfield Beach, Florida, at the age of 20. Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, and Trayvon Newsome are facing charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery concerning his death. A fourth suspect, Robert Allen, pled guilty in 2022 and is expected to testify against the other three. Drake’s lawyers successfully petitioned to avoid a deposition about the feud between himself and XXXTentacion. Defense attorney Mauricio Padilla argued that before he died, XXXTentacion accused Drake of being involved in his murder. However, Drake’s attorney stated that there was no evidence to support this claim and that it was unreasonable to force Drake to appear for a deposition. The dispute between Drake and XXXTentacion began in 2017 when XXXTentacion accused Drake of stealing his flow on Drake’s song “KMT.” While Drake denied the allegations in an interview, the defense tried using the feud to their advantage. The Defense team had previously submitted a list of potential witnesses, including Drake, Quavo, 6ix9ine, and even late Migos rapper Takeoff, who was shot dead in the early morning of Nov. 1, 2022, outside a bowling alley in Houston. Prosecutors allege that Boatwright, Trayvon, and Williams went to Riva Motorsports on June 18, 2018, to purchase masks intended for use in future armed robberies but decided to target XXXTentacion when they spotted him inside the store shopping for a motorcycle. When the rapper left the establishment, prosecutors said Williams cut off the sports car with his SUV as Boatwright and Newsome rushed XXXTentacion’s car to rob him. They grabbed $50,000 in cash and a Louis Vuitton bag before Boatwright allegedly shot him several times, killing him. Surveillance cameras caught the murder on video, and Broward County Sherriff Officers arrested the perpetrators shortly after. XXXTentacion (real name Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy) was born on Jan. 23, 1998, in Plantation, Florida, and rose to prominence in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s. He gained a large following with his emotionally charged and often controversial music, blending hip-hop, R&B, and rock elements. Some of his most famous songs include “Sad!”, “Moonlight,” and “Jocelyn Flores.”
