How rappers make money from music sales has dramatically changed over the past decade or more. You don’t need the all-encompassing hand of a record label to release music and make bank in modern times, although it still helps. Rappers like the late and great XXXTentacion have shown that you can start on Soundcloud or YouTube and still scale the lofty heights of the record industry.
Even though he’s been dead for a few years, the XXXTentacion net worth shows that you can stay independent and still get rich. Rappers like XXX changed the game in terms of keeping creative control while still making fat stacks of cheddar.
Let’s take a look at the uber-interesting life and times of XXXTentacion, how much money he made, and how he got to the top and stayed there.
Net Worth and Salary
XXXTentacion’s net worth is currently listed as $5 million, but by some sources is estimated to be in the $15 to $20 million range. Because he remained an independent artist for the majority of his career and was largely surrounded by controversy, the exact net worth of XXXTentacion is a guestimation.
His entire music style and discography are also shrouded in mystery, so it’s hardly surprising that his financials are also a point of contention. However, most financial outlets like Forbes say it’s around the 5-million-dollar mark.
When XXX was murdered and gunned down in broad daylight on 18 June 2018, the rap music world was left in shock and sadness. Around the time of his death, his net worth was believed to be approximately $3 million, but like most recently-dead artists, they generate lots of cash posthumously. Some might say that his untimely death made him more well-known and drove sales, and that’s sadly a fact of life… or death.
Making Money on YouTube
As with most independent rappers and artists in the 2010s and 2020s, the vast majority of their earnings come from live concerts, Spotify streams, and YouTube views. YouTube was always a very good platform for XXXTentacion because he had a cult-like fanbase that lapped up anything he made.
He first opened his YouTube account in June 2015, and it currently has more than 39 million subscribers in 2023. XXX has uploaded a total of 132 videos to his channel that has garnered a collective number of views in the region of 10 billion.
He gets an average monthly viewership of 66 million, which breaks down to approximately 2.22 million views per day. The vast majority of YouTubers make $3 to $7 for every thousand views they get.
So if we take a lower gauge of the money XXX makes from his YouTube channel, it’s approximately $4 million per year, which is roughly $266k per month. If we take the higher rate, it could be closer to $7 million per year. Obviously, all this money didn’t/doesn’t all go directly to XXXTentacion or his family, but we surmise it’s still a chunky annual figure.
Did XXX Make Money from Record Deals?
As previously stated, XXXTentacion spent most of his career as an independent artist and released lots of music on his own label, Bad Vibes Forever. However, in September 2017, his label signed a one-album deal with a subsidiary of the Capitol Music Group named Caroline. This deal was believed to be worth $6 million, which should have massively boosted his net worth.
However, just over one month later, in October 2023, XXX personally terminated the contract and said he was going to retire from music. So he didn’t really make any money from that deal.
In the weeks leading up to his death in 2018, XXX secured another record deal with the major label Empire Distribution. The deal was for XXX’s third studio album and is believed to be worth $10 million. He never physically saw any money from that deal too. There are a couple of instances where XXX could have got much more wealthier, but it wasn’t destined to be.
How Much Did XXXTentacion Charge per Concert?
There is very little info regarding how much XXXTentacion charged per show. But we can make some calculated guesses due to what other rappers said about it. In 2018, Chase the Rapper was quoted as saying that XXXTentacion could probably make between $10,000 and $50,000 per show, but it might be even higher than that. Over the past five years, we have seen rapper concert rates go through the roof.
It wouldn’t be facetious to think that XXX would be charging more than $100k per show in current times. The truth is that he spent lots of his life on the road from 2015 to 2017. If he performed at 30 concerts in 2017 at $20k per show, that number would be close to $600k in 2017 alone. I am not sure how much money XXX made from live performances, but it would be a hefty share of his net worth and annual salary.
How Much Did He Make from Record Sales?
By the end of 2020, XXXTentacion had sold over 74 million records in North America alone. In the months after his death, his record sales astronomically increased 1603%. Although it’s very difficult to calculate, it’s surmised that around 80% of the XXXTentacion net worth came from album and single sales.
During his career, XXX sold around 20 to 25 million album-equivalent sales, as stated by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). The remaining 50 million sales are a cumulative effort from his singles and mixtapes over the years.
Did He Have Endorsement Deals?
Not particularly. It’s worth pointing out that by 2018, XXXTentacion was only just becoming a mainstream player. For sure, his music was charting high on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the US, but he was still relatively unknown in mainstream America. This means he wasn’t offered many endorsement deals by major brands.
Even though he had close to one million Instagram followers in 2018, he was not offered the same endorsement-hefty deals that similar status influencers get. You have to remember that his music was largely seen as depressing by some quarters, so brands were concerned about offering him a deal. You have to reflect a brand’s feelings and principles as best you can, and not many major companies trusted XXX to reflect their brand as intended.
Early Life and Education
We sometimes forget that XXXTentacion was only 20 years old when he died. It’s an extremely tragic story when you think about it that way. Life is only usually getting started at around that age, so it’s a crying shame. XXXTentacion’s real name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, and he was born on 23 January 1998 in Plantation, Florida. He had deep Jamaican roots as both his dad and grandfather were Rastafarians.
He was born with a heart defect that is believed to have contributed to his short height of 5ft 6 inches. XXX was shipped off to live with his grandmother at a young age because his mother had numerous personal problems. He stabbed someone when he was just six years old, allegedly to protect his mom. XXX also claims he was abused as a child, and although he wasn’t sexually abused, he was badly beaten and saw someone getting raped.
Life didn’t start well for the young man.
Where Did XXXTentacion Attend School?
His school life was plagued with issues. XXX attended Margate Middle School but was expelled after getting into physical altercations with other kids. By the time he attended Pepper High School, he was already looking for a way out of education.
He ended up dropping out in the tenth grade due to getting into fights with other students and generally being a menace to himself and others. By that time, he’d already started rapping and listening to all manner of genres, from hip-hop to nu-metal. During his earlier school years, he was diagnosed as having bipolar, which is hardly surprising when considering his rough childhood.
XXXTentacion Career Overview
In 2013, before he was even known as XXXTentacion, he released a track called “News/Flock.” He created the song with a couple of rappers he’d met in the juvenile detention center where he had been placed due to a gun possession charge. After that, he took on the XXXTentacion rap moniker and started to get his music out there on the SoundCloud platform, with his first upload being “Vice City.” He formed a rap collective called “Members Only” and released his first-ever EP in 2014 called “The Fall.”
He released his Members Only Vol. 1 and Members Only Vol. 2 mixtapes in 2015 to wide underground acclaim. By the end of the first quarter of 2016, XXX had started to change his sound a little. XXX became more inspired by indie and heavy metal music genres when he released his “Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer” EP.
His rap career was doing so well that he quit his day job as a call center operator to concentrate on his Bad Vibes Forever album. The album was due to be released in October 2016 until he was arrested and imprisoned for allegedly battering his girlfriend at the time and some other charges.
Making the Billboard Hot 100 Charts
After being released from prison, a single from his Members Only collective he uploaded on Soundcloud got some traction in the US music charts. The single “Look at Me” gained some serious interest and made it to the 34th position on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts in the US. It also made the top 40 of the Canadian music charts.
His unique flow on that track gained him some notoriety and was even mimicked by the chart-topping rapper Drake, who used a very similar flow on his “KMT” track.
This kind of exposure led to Empire Distribution offering XXXTentacion a record deal, and all this while he was still initially jailed. The deal gave him lower royalty rates but allowed him to have more control over his creative output and sound. In 2017 he released a few more Soundcloud tracks, “17” and “I Need Jesus,” before he released his debut studio album, also entitled “17”.
Album Chart Sales
The album was released in August 2017 and went directly into the Billboard 200 Album Charts in the US at number 2. Seven of the tracks from “17” made the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. This album eventually attained triple platinum status.
He released his second studio album “?” in March 2018, just a few months before he died. The album went straight to number one on the Hot 200 Billboard charts and features artists such as Travis Barker, Joey Bada$$, and PnB Rock.
Posthumously, two more studio albums were released in his name. These albums were “Skins” in 2018 and finally “Bad Vibes Forever” in 2019.
Personal Life
You could write an entire book about XXXTentacion’s personal life and controversies. However, by the time he died, XXX was relatively settled on a personal level. He was living with his girlfriend, Jenesis Sanchez, and although the couple didn’t have any kids, they supposedly had two dogs and three cats.
He’s had numerous issues with the police over the years, but it seemed he was putting that all behind him in 2018, which makes his death even more tragic. In Feb 2018, XXX stated that he was going back to school and even studying for his GED.
Real Estate
Because XXX was so young when he died, he’d only just started to invest in real estate. Around the time of his death, he’d just moved into a 4-bedroom, 6.000 square foot Parkland, Florida, mansion on one acre of land that he supposedly bought for $1.4 million. It’s also been reported that he bought four Florida homes for his family members and a $3.4 million mansion for his mum that was also in Parkland, Florida.
At the time of writing, some of his family members, including his brother and father, are embroiled in a court case to settle a dispute about who owns the properties and who is owed money. Sadly, that’s what usually happens when a family fights over your bones while your blood is still warm.
Interested in the Net Worth of Other Rappers and Celebrities?
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What is the XXXTentacion Net Worth, and what is his Legacy?
Although no one is quite sure what XXXTentacion’s net worth currently is, it could be anywhere between $5m and $15m.
In terms of legacy in the rap game, he will go down as a legend. His unique rap style and delivery have always been a point of contention in the eyes of traditional rap music fans, but no one can doubt his innovative and groundbreaking music. It might not be the rap that your father listened to in the 1990s, but it always sparked an opinion one way or another.
Some believe his raps were ultra-depressing and melancholic, while others believe that XXXTentacion had created a new rap genre. Whichever side you stand on the argument, his talent and vision are undoubted. He might not have spit rhymes like Big Daddy Kane, but his style and music still have people talking many years after his death.
R.I.P. XXXTENTACION.
FAQs
1. What kind of music did XXXTentacion make?
XXXTentacion was known for his emotional and introspective music, which featured a mix of genres such as hip hop, punk rock, and heavy metal.
2. What was XXXTentacion’s net worth at the time of his death?
XXXTentacion’s net worth was estimated to be around $5 million in 2018.
3. What were some of XXXTentacion’s philanthropic efforts?
XXXTentacion often donated money to charities that helped underprivileged youth. He was also known for organizing charity events in his local community.
4. Where was XXXTentacion from?
XXXTentacion was born in Plantation, Florida.
5. What was XXXTentacion’s debut album?
XXXTentacion’s debut album was called “17,” and it was released in 2017.
6. What happened to XXXTentacion?
XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on June 18, 2018.
7. What was XXXTentacion’s biggest hit?
XXXTentacion’s biggest hit was the single “Sad!,” which was released in 2018 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
8. What was XXXTentacion’s real name?
XXXTentacion’s real name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy.
9. How did XXXTentacion die?
XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on June 18, 2018.
10. What was XXXTentacion’s second album called?
XXXTentacion’s second album was called “?” and it was released in 2018.
11. Who has worked to preserve XXXTentacion’s legacy?
XXXTentacion’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, has worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy.
12. What did XXXTentacion’s music influence?
XXXTentacion’s music influenced a new generation of musicians and continues to be popular with fans around the world.
13. How did XXXTentacion become famous?
XXXTentacion became famous through online platforms such as SoundCloud and YouTube.
14. What were some of the controversies surrounding XXXTentacion’s music?
XXXTentacion’s music was controversial due to his often violent and misogynistic lyrics.
15. How old was XXXTentacion when he died?
XXXTentacion was only 20 years old at the time of his death.
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